Railfanning.org News Wire – Page 259

More people riding the rails

October 20, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

ATLANTA – Amtrak in 2009 saw its second-highest ridership since its inception 38 years ago, the railroad announced. During Fiscal Year 2009, which ended Sept. 30, nearly 27.2 million people rode Amtrak. Fiscal Year 2008 still remains a record for the railroad, with 28.7 million riding the rails, however, 2009’s numbers represented a ridership increase of 5.1 percent over 2007. “In a difficult year for the economy – particularly in the travel industry – Amtrak ridership has remained strong albeit with some regional variation,” Amtrak President and CEO Joseph H. Boardman said in a news release. “In particular, reduced business

Claude Mongeau Appointed a CN Director

October 20, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

MONTREAL — Canadian National announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Claude Mongeau as a director of the Company, effectively immediately. Mongeau, executive vice-president of CN, will succeed E. Hunter Harrison as CN president and chief executive officer on Jan. 1, 2010. Mongeau’s appointment increases the size of CN’s board to 12, of whom 10 are outside directors. Mongeau is also a director of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.

Key Customers Get Advance Look at BNSF’s Expanded Memphis Intermodal Facility

October 20, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway Company on Oct. 6 opened its Memphis Intermodal Facility for an advance look by members of its customer advisory board. The more than $200 million expansion is in its final phases of work. When fully operational in 2010, the expanded facility will have double the capacity, reduce emissions and improve air quality. The BNSF Memphis Intermodal Facility spans 185 acres and will have the capacity to handle 1 million lifts per year at full build out. The facility is equipped with eight wide-span, electric, rail-mounted gantry cranes. These cranes produce zero emissions on site

Union Pacific Chooses Enterprise Data Warehouse Upgrade Over Addition of a Data Warehouse Appliance

October 20, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Union Pacific Railroad has elected to upgrade and expand its Active Enterprise Data Warehouse from Teradata Corp. Union Pacific made the choice following a benchmark study involving several data warehouse appliances from multiple vendors. “Based on our enterprise applications, our high number of concurrent users and the mixed workload nature of our demands, we selected the latest Active Enterprise Data Warehouse from Teradata,” said Lynden L. Tennison, Union Pacific senior vice president and chief information officer. “We have had a very long-standing relationship with Teradata. This project is about improving our ability to respond to our customers and

STB Makes Procedural Changes

October 16, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board announced an update to its regulations that eliminates the vacant position of Secretary and removes other incorrect or obsolete references. In recent years, most of the tasks and staff of the Secretary’s Office have been reassigned to other Board offices.

Amtrak replacing pre-WW II electrical equipment to keep trains on the move

October 16, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – Amtrak is using $25 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to replace transformers and other electrical equipment—some of which date to before World War II— at 40 substations that deliver the power needed to propel passenger trains on the electrified tracks between New York and Washington, D.C. “Amtrak is re-energizing the Northeast Corridor tracks to make certain there is a reliable and uninterrupted flow of electricity to keep trains and passengers on the move,” said Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman, noting that this week a transformer in operation since 1934 is being

National Gateway in the Spotlight as Public-Private Partnerships Gain Significance

October 14, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — More than 140 supporters from the public and private sectors in six states have joined together in endorsing the National Gateway, an unprecedented public-private partnership dedicated to revolutionizing the nation’s transportation system, preparing it for the widely predicted growth in global demand. Recently honored as “Competitiveness Project of the Year” by the North American Strategic Infrastructure Leadership Forum, the National Gateway has emerged as a leading public-private partnership. The project will use intermodal transportation and double-stack trains to improve America’s global market competitiveness, create jobs, reduce transportation-related emissions and alleviate congestion on roads and highways. Public-private partnerships strategically

Norfolk Southern E-Commerce Offers ‘Railcar Event – Text Message Alerts’ and Live Chat Support

October 12, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern customers now can receive text messages notifying them of the status of shipments with Railcar Event Alerts. Using a simple application on the company’s e-commerce site, accessNS, customers can set up alerts to advise them of a variety of events for as many as three railcars, containers, trailers, or chassis at a time. Once an alert is set up, Railcar Event Alerts checks the status of the equipment every hour and sends a text message to the customer’s cell phone if the status has changed. Information available through Railcar Event Alerts include changes in ETA

STB to Hear Arguments in Major Cases

October 7, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Surface Transportation Board Chairman Daniel R. Elliott III announced that the Board will begin holding public oral arguments in major cases. The oral arguments will give parties an opportunity to directly address the Board and allow Board members a chance to ask questions before making a decision. The format will be similar to oral arguments held in federal appellate courts. While the proceedings will be open to the public, only counsel for the parties will be allowed to present argument. “This is another way to demystify the process,” said Elliott, who has made bringing additional openness and transparency

National Gateway Announces Addition of More Than 50 New Supporters

October 7, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The National Gateway, an unprecedented public-private partnership dedicated to improving the nation’s freight capacity, today announced the addition of nearly 50 new supporters since June 1, 2009, bringing the total number of coalition supporters to more than 140. The National Gateway is an $842 million, multi-state public-private infrastructure initiative which will create a more efficient freight rail route between Mid-Atlantic ports and Midwestern markets. Planned improvements include raising bridges, increasing tunnel clearances and building new terminals along existing rail corridors to support the movement of double-stacked containers on rail cars. The coalition has the support of both public