September - 2019

APTA calls on feds to increase commuter rail funding for PTC, other safety efforts

American Public Transportation Association (APTA) officials earlier this week urged Congress to increase support for commuter railroads by authorizing $1 billion in funding for positive train control (PTC) over six years through the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) grants program. APTA and commuter railroad executives made their plea during a Sept. 24 hearing before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials. T

CITY OF TEAGUE OFFICIALLY OPPOSED TO HIGH-SPEED RAILWAY

City of Teague Board of Aldermen issued a Resolution opposing the Texas Central High-Speed Railway proposed rail line as it would bisect Freestone County. It is stated in the Resolution that Texas Central does not have eminent domain authority under current law and eminent domain would be necessary to complete the line. Multiple reasons are listed in the Resolution, including: –The proposed rail line would negatively impact property values, cause delays for emergency vehic

Kentucky Pol: Who’ll Ride Trains in 20 Years?

House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth raised eyebrows of transportation advocates this week when he suggested funding high-speed rail was a fool’s errand because new technology such as driverless cars could quickly make the locomotive obsolete. Speaking after Wednesday’s Budget Committee hearing on infrastructure spending, Yarmuth (D–Kentucky) suggested that in 20 years, no one is going to ride in a high-speed train when they’ll be able to “hop in a self-driving car th

August truck tonnage volumes are solid, reports ATA

August truck tonnage volumes were mostly positive, according to data issued yesterday by the American Trucking Associations (ATA). The ATA’s advanced seasonally-adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index for August, at 118.3 (2015=100), fell 3.2% on the heels of a 6.2% (revised down form 6.6%) July increase. On an annual basis, August SA tonnage was up 4.1%, which was off from July’s 7.3% annual spread, its largest annual gain going back to April. SA tonnage is up 4.3% throug

APTA: Heavy, commuter rail ridership grew in Q2

U.S. and Canadian residents took more trips on public transportation in second-quarter 2019 than during the same period last year, according to American Public Transportation Association (APTA) data. Released this week, APTA's Transit Ridership Report showed a 0.46 percent increase across all modes of public transportation in the second quarter, including a 1.44 percent increase on heavy-rail systems and a 3.54 percent increase on commuter-rail systems, APTA officials said

July 2019 North American Transborder Freight Numbers

Transborder freight between the U.S. and other North American countries (Canada and Mexico) in July 2019: Total Transborder Freight: $102.4 billion of transborder freight moved by all modes of transportation, up 1.2% compared to July 2018 Most-used mode: Trucks moved $63.8 billion of freight, up 1.8% compared to July 2018 Second mode: Railways moved $14.8 billion of freight, up 3.0% compared to July 2018 Truck Freight: $63.8 billion (62.3% of all transborder freight) By borde

State DOTs Gearing Up For Annual Rail Safety Week Campaign

National rail safety education nonprofit Operation Lifesaver, Inc. and Operation Lifesaver Canada are holding the annual Rail Safety Week public outreach event September 22-28 this year with the support of the U.S. Department of Transportation, state departments of transportation, and other organizations. [Above photo by the National Transportation Safety Board.] The organization noted in a statement that the goal of Rail Safety Week is to raise awareness about the importance

High Speed Rail Continues its Slow Speed Move Toward Construction

HOUSTON/DALLAS (Covering Katy News) - Developers of a proposed high speed train from Houston to Dallas are reporting two recent accomplishments that they believe puts them on a path to beginning construction as early as next year. The project has been in the planning stages for years and if constructed will zip passengers from the two major cities in 90 minutes at speeds of up to 240 miles-per-hour. "On the heels of the recent regulatory announcement on the RPA, we’re excited

Federal action pushes Texas bullet train project toward fruition

A proposed high-speed railway would transport passengers from Northwest Houston to downtown Dallas in about 90 minutes. Taking the United States’ first bullet train from the idea phase to actuality is proving to be a slow, drawn-out process. But the groundbreaking project continues to progress and passed a significant marker last week when Texas Central, the Dallas-based company developing the high-speed train, announced that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) had gran

Is Intermodal Rail Stalling?

Intermodal rail—a transportation mode choice that was to take trucks off the road—is slowing down. Where is it heading? Over several decades, the premise was that railroad intermodal trailer on flat cars (TOFC) and containers mostly on double-stacked well cars (COFC) would grow in volume and therefore reduce highway truck congestion. This is not a financial analysis to help determine whether to buy or sell railroad stock. This is about the evolving role of rail intermodal se

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