Railfanning.org News Wire – Page 318

Rep.: High Gas Prices Help Rail Travel

May 23, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Higher gas prices and congestion on the nation’s highways are helping to make railroads a more viable travel alternative, a congresswoman says. “Amtrak’s improved physical state and recent focus on customer service, along with increasing highway and airport congestion and rising gas prices, have made intercity passenger rail more popular and necessary than ever,” said Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla., chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials. Congress’ Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure approved a bill to reauthorize Amtrak and improve intercity passenger rail. HR 6003, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, authorizes $14.4 billion for Amtrak capital and operating grants, state intercity

Bill to Reauthorize Amtrak, Improve Intercity Passenger Rail Moves Out of Committee

May 23, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — A bill to reauthorize Amtrak and improve intercity passenger rail was approved and reported out by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. HR 6003, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, authorizes $14.4 billion for Amtrak capital and operating grants, state intercity passenger grants, and high-speed rail over the next five years. “Today’s markup is a historic milestone, because the legislation we approved today is a truly significant and long overdue investment in the nation’s passenger rail system,” said Rep. James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the committee. “We can address many of the nation’s most pressing transportation problems by improving Amtrak’s service and operations, because

Railroads, Customers Meet to Discuss Freight Transportation Needs, Challenges

May 23, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The nation’s major freight railroads and their customers met this week to discuss the many challenges ahead in freight transportation, working together to make sure America’s freight rail network continues to be the best in the world. “Freight traffic is expected to increase dramatically over the next decade,” said CSX Chief Executive Officer Michael Ward, who gave the keynote address at the recent 2008 North American Rail Shippers Association (NARS) meeting. “If we want to see more of that traffic on rail and less on our overcrowded highways, railroads and shippers need to be ready to meet that challenge.” According to a recent Morgan Stanley survey of shippers,

Track Upgrade Project Causes Temporary Amtrak Schedule Changes on Chicago-St. Louis Corridor

May 23, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

CHICAGO – Amtrak schedules on the Chicago-St. Louis corridor, served by Lincoln Service trains and the Texas Eagle, will undergo changes during the next several weeks, while Union Pacific Railroad makes track improvements at Springfield, Ill., through the end of June. During the first phase of the work, Train 301, the morning Lincoln Service departure from Chicago to St. Louis; and Train 306, the evening Lincoln Service departure from St. Louis to Chicago; are both canceled. Passengers are being directed to the four other round-trips on the corridor as alternate transportation from May 23 through May 31, including Train 300, the early morning Lincoln Service departure from St. Louis to

Railroad Fuel Efficiency Sets New Record

May 21, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — What’s more fuel efficient than the newest hybrid car? A freight train. And last year, freight railroads were more fuel efficient than ever. In 2007, major freight railroads in the United States moved a ton of freight an average of 436 miles on each gallon of fuel. This represents a 3.1 percent improvement over 2006 and an astonishing 85.5 percent improvement since 1980. “That’s the equivalent of moving a ton of freight all the way from Baltimore to Boston on just a single gallon of diesel fuel,” said Association of American Railroads President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger. He noted that thanks to railroads’ fuel efficiency gains, since

Norfolk Southern Receives First Uni-Level Railcars for Large Motor Vehicle Transport

May 21, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern Corp. has put into service the first of the new Uni-Level railcars supplied by TTX Company. Last week, Norfolk Southern loaded the first 13 of 55 Uni-Level cars received from TTX, officially launching the railroad’s Uni-Level service network. The fully enclosed Uni-Level railcar is designed to provide economical rail transportation of large motorized vehicles, including Class 5-8 trucks and recreational vehicles. Transporting these types of vehicles in a Uni-Level car helps ensure that the vehicles will arrive at their distributors in factory-quality condition and will not require re-work, as is typically the case with over-the-road transportation. Prototypes of the Uni-Level railcar have been tested successfully

STB Grants $30M Rate Reduction Against UP

May 19, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board issued a decision granting an estimated $30 million in rate reductions and reparations in the maximum railroad-rate case brought before the Board by the Kansas City Power & Light Company (KCPL) against Union Pacific Railroad. At issue in this case was KCPL’s challenge to rates charged by UP for the rail transportation of coal from Wyoming’s Powder River Basin to KCPL’s Montrose Generating Station near Ladue, Mo. The parties to this case stipulated that the maximum lawful rate should be set at 180 percent of the variable cost of providing service. In its decision, the Board found that UP’s rates for the challenged movements

Schumer Named Porker of the Month for Rail Project

May 15, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., its May Porker of the Month for attempting to use the tax code to earmark a $2 billion subsidy for a commuter rail between Manhattan and the JFK airport. Schumer wants to take advantage of the New York Liberty Zone (NYLZ) tax credits, which were intended to stimulate the redevelopment of downtown Manhattan after 9/11, for a rail project that has been under consideration since well before 2001. Sen. Schumer added the project to Senate Amendment 4585 to the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2007 (H.R. 2881). After questions were raised about the number and controversial nature of the

Pan Am Railways and Norfolk Southern Create the Patriot Corridor to Improve Rail Service and Expand Capacity in New York and New England

May 15, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

NORTH BILLERICA, Mass. — Pan Am Railways and Norfolk Southern Railway have agreed to create an improved rail route between Albany, N.Y., and the greater Boston, Mass., area called the “Patriot Corridor.” Investments in the Patriot Corridor are expected to improve track quality and customer service, boost train speed and reliability, and increase capacity on the route. PAR and NS each will have a 50 percent interest in the newly formed railroad company, called “Pan Am Southern.” PAR has agreed to transfer to the joint venture its 155-mile main line track that runs between Mechanicville (Albany), N.Y., and Ayer, Mass., along with 281 miles of secondary and branch lines, including

Rosenker: Safety Up, but Still Room for Improvement

May 14, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Mark V. Rosenker told members of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) that, while grade crossing accidents and railroad employee fatality rates have declined in the past quarter century, there is still room for improvement. Addressing rail executives at the AAR’s annual safety awards luncheon, Rosenker called upon attendees to move more quickly on safety improvements by adopting new technology, such as positive train control and electronically controlled pneumatic braking, two of the technologies that show great promise for improving safety. “As many of you know,” Rosenker stated, “I strongly believe that the development and implementation of new technology is important to improving