SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD RISING TO FULL STRENGTH JUST AS BEGEMAN'S TERM CLOSES AND THE POLITICAL SEAS (POTENTIALLY) CHANGE.
The United States Surface Transportation Board (STB) is on the verge of a significant transition. Coming changes are in the Board’s composition and the possible effects on its regulatory process. Rail transportation professionals should consider ways in which these changes may impact their business decisions. The Background In 2015, Congress passed an amendment expanding the STB from three […]
REFLECTING LEASE AGREEMENT WITH CSX, GRAFTON & UPTON FILES EXEMPTION TO OPERATE ALONG 8.4-MILE MILFORD SECONDARY, RECENTLY RECONNECTED TO G&U's HOPEDALE TRACK AFTER DECADES APART.
28.September, Grafton MA – The Milford Secondary begins at the Franklin Line in Franklin MA, running 8.35 miles through Bellingham and Hopedale, before terminating at Central St. in Milford. The connection to G&U is at MP 8.0. G&U now connects CSX’s two primary New England rail assets, the main line between Albany (Selkirk Yard) and Boston […]
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has selected 50 projects in 29 states to receive competitive grant funding under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program. The projects selected include a wide variety of railroad investments that improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of freight and […]
ArcelorMittal announced this morning that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. pursuant to which Cleveland-Cliffs will acquire 100% of the shares of ArcelorMittal USA for a combination of cash and stock. Under the terms of the agreement, ArcelorMittal expects to receive an aggregate equity value consideration of $1.4 billion upon closing […]
On Friday, 18.September, four years of planning and site preparation came to fruition as a 10-week construction blitz allowed the reopening of VTR’s new 360-foot Middlebury Rail Tunnel. The new prefab tunnel not only improves rail service by increasing clearances on the main route from Rutland to Burlington. The project was also designed to improve […]
PAR'S C.R.I.S.I. Grant Proposal Requests $21 Million (PAR will also Pony Up the Same Amount) to Bring Tattered 'KEAG Route Up to Class 2/286K by Mid-2023. Until then, New Operator will have Only Marginal Access to Saint John.
19.June, Billerica MA – Pan Am Railways submitted a proposal to the Federal Railroad Administration for a $20,996,786 grant from the FY2020 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) funding opportunity to rebuild the 111.16-mile Pine Tree Corridor (a/k/a, Mattawamkeag line) in central Maine, running from Mattawamkeag (KEAG MP 0.41) to Waterville (CPF 111/MP 111.57). The […]
MBTA Awards Second Major Contract for SCR Phase One Build. $562.5 Million will Connect Fall River and New Bedford Commuters via Middleboro to Boston South Station by Late 2023.
24 August, Boston MA – Phase One of the SCR project will reconstruct existing freight rail lines connecting to the operating MBTA Middleboro Line. The Middleboro Secondary, New Bedford Main, and Fall River Secondary lines will be upgraded for passenger service with new track, as well as new stations and platforms, commuter parking, train layover, signal […]
After Trial-by-Fire Initiation to Serve Montreal Strike-Diverted Ships at Port Saint John, CP Inaugurates Single-Train Through Service.
20.August, Montreal QC – Months earlier than planned when CP acquired the CMQ, trains CP #250 and CP #251 will each run daily between Montreal and Brownville Jct. EMRY/NBSR will pull the train between BVJ and Saint John container Port. Canadian Pacific’s CMQ integration plan caught a wave when several container ships were diverted from Montreal to […]
R.J. Corman Acquires Three Shortlines Along PA/NY Border.
19.August, Nicholasville KY – R. J. Corman Railroad Group, LLC finalized an agreement to acquire Owego and Harford Railway (OHRY), Lehigh Railway (LRWY), and Luzerne and Susquehanna Railway (LS), as well as TranZ, a transload service provider operating on the short line railroads. The three short line railroads haul a variety of freight including sand, drill cuttings, scrap, feed […]
Shippers Call in Big Guns to Negotiate Adequate Rail Service.
17.August, Plattsburgh NY — CP #D11 train resumed five-day local service, in response to a rebellion by local rail-served businesses and their political representatives. Prior to the CVD-19 pandemic, CP had reduced Plattsburgh service from five to three days weekly, with no specific reason provided at the time, according to members of South Junction Enterprises, an […]
