Weekly Rail Review

[CAT345C]

Last time I got this, I posted it on the Mich. RR board, and had to cut it down, lets see if the whole thing fits here


>>Subject: Weekly Rail Review
>>Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2006 21:44:27 -0400
>>
>>WEEKLY RAIL REVIEW
>>FOR THE WEEK ENDING SAT, AUGUST 12, 2006
>>BY DAVE MEARS
>>
>>(NOTE: “ffd” indicates a reference “for further details.”)
>>
>>THE WEEK’S TOP RAIL AND TRANSIT NEWS (in chronological order):
>>
>>(MON) Officials of the Vermont Department of Transportation briefed
>>lawmakers on proposed plans to run Amtrak’s state-subsidized “Vermonter”
>>train with new diesel multiple unit (DMU) cars. “Amtrak came to us and
>>said we’d like to try something ? to see what the DMUs ccan do on
>>intercity routes,” said a Vermont DOT spokesman. Under the proposed
>>three-year demonstration, the Federal Railroad Administration would loan
>>the state $17.5 million to buy five DMUs and Amtrak would provide the
>>state $2 million for expenses including transition costs, retooling a
>>maintenance facility and marketing. The DMUs would operate between St.
>>Albans, VT and New Haven, CT, with passengers transferring to Northeast
>>Corridor trains at New Haven. (ffd: Burlington Free Press)
>>
>>(MON) Norfolk Southern announced that it would debut its new Modal-X
>>door-to-door intermodal service on August 21. A NS spokesman said that the
>>new service will allow customers to log onto a website, modal-x.com, and
>>request next-day truck transportation, to be provided through NS
>>subsidiary Thoroughbred Intermodal Services. The spokesman added that the
>>service will initially be offered on NS local service lanes originating at
>>or between Chicago, IL and Morrisville, PA. (ffd: NS Corp., Progressive
>>Railroading)
>>
>>(MON) Amtrak and California commuter rail operators Metrolink and Caltrans
>>jointly announced their new “Rail 2 Rail” website. A spokesman for the
>>three said that the new website will provide new and coordinate
>>information about train services, as well as information about weekend
>>getaways, special events, festivals and destination promotions. Under the
>>“Rail 2 Rail” program, passengers may ride certain Amtrak train services
>>in California with Metrolink and Caltrans multiple-ride tickets. (ffd:
>>Amtrak)
>>
>>(TUE) The U.S. Court of Appeals rejected the State of Nevada’s latest
>>arguments against moving nuclear waste over a planned 319-mile rail line
>>serving the new federal nuclear waste storage facility at Yucca Mountain,
>>NV. A state spokesman said that it will continue its opposition to moving
>>nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain, adding that it has sued the Nuclear
>>Regulatory Commission over its rulemaking related to the site. A federal
>>spokesman said the Yucca Mountain facility is now projected to open in
>>2017, approximately 19 years after its initial planned opening date. (ffd:
>>Railway Age, wire services)
>>
>>(TUE) Metro North announced that it will mark the 100th anniversary of the
>>first passenger train to operate between Grand Central Terminal and the
>>Bronx under third-rail power. A MNRR spokesman said that celebration
>>events, which will be held September 30, will include presentations on the
>>history of the 1906 electrification project, as well as the first-ever
>>public tour of M-42, the underground facility that houses the original
>>rotary converters and control boards. The spokesman added that a special
>>train will also take guests to the original substation at Mott Haven Jct.,
>>followed by stops at Highbridge Yard, an original power plant in Glenwood,
>>NY and the Ossining, NY substation. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)
>>
>>(WED) Officials in Olathe, KS broke ground for a new railroad overpass on
>>BNSF’s Transcon Line that will eliminate the grade crossings through its
>>central business district. A spokesman for the project said that the
>>elevated structure was chosen in favor of several highway underpasses, as
>>the latter was considered too expensive and the former will allow for $17
>>million in state funding. The spokesman added that the total cost of the
>>project would be $39 million and should initially be complete by August,
>>2007, with further improvements continuing through April, 2008. (ffd:
>>Kansas City Star, Railway Age)
>>
>>(WED) At a special meeting of the U.S. House of Representatives's
>>Subcommittee on Water and Power held in Wheatland, WY, representatives of
>>western electrical utilities continued their complaints about high rail
>>rates and poor rail service. Wheatland Mayor Joel Dingman said, “If these
>>rates are allowed to go unchecked that will mean an increased cost of $1
>>billion to the consumer-owners of the Laramie River Station over the next
>>20 years.” Wheatland Rural Electric Association board member Jack Finnerty
>>also complained about the Surface Transportation Board, suggesting that
>>the STB was permitting railroads to “charge above market rates where there
>>is no viable competition.” Representatives of BNSF and Union Pacific, who
>>also attended the hearings, noted that they are investing hundreds of
>>millions of dollars in new track and other infrastructure to reliably haul
>>more coal. (ffd: wire services)
>>
>>(WED) St. Louis, MO transit operator Metro announced that it would start
>>service on its new Cross Country MetroLink light rail line on August 28.
>>The new line will total 8 miles in length and connect St. Louis with the
>>suburbs of University City, Clayton, Richmond Heights, Brentwood,
>>Maplewood and Shrewsbury. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)
>>
>>(WED) The National Association of Railroad Passengers announced an
>>initiative to build grassroots support for each long-distance Amtrak train
>>route. A NARP spokesman said that it would campaign for and assist in the
>>organizing of “route teams” to support each route. The spokesman added
>>that these groups would be modeled on the Texas Eagle Marketing and
>>Performance Organization (TEMPO), which it said had been in “very
>>successful” existence for nine years, and which it credited with saving
>>the “Texas Eagle” and “Heartland Flyer” trains. (ffd: NARP)
>>
>>(WED) The Port Tracker shipping perodical reported that August traffic
>>through the nation’s ports was growing so rapidly that August could tie
>>October as the busiest month of the year. The periodical went on to report
>>that “the ports themselves and the truck and rail systems are operating
>>okay so far” and that “shippers will make it through peak season without
>>significant congestion.” All ports covered by the periodical ? Los
>>Angeles-Long Beach, Oakkland, Tacoma and Seattle on the West Coast and New
>>York-New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah on the East Coast
>>? are currently rated “low" for congestiion, the same as last month. (ffd:
>>National Retail Federation & Global Insight, Trains)
>>
>>(WED) Union Pacific, Union Tank Car and Dow Chemical announced a joint
>>initiative to develop what it called “the next-generation tank car” for
>>use in transporting highly hazardous chemicals. A spokesman for the
>>initiative said that their work “will focus on all aspects of hazmat
>>transport, not the least of which is the design of the tank car
>>itself...Other parts of hazmat transport ? for example, the supply chain ?
>>will also be st studied.” The spokesman added that those involved with the
>>initiative, additional to key representatives of the three companies, will
>>include academic and hazmat industry officials, as well as former
>>regulatory leaders. (ffd: Progressive Railroading, Railway Age)
>>
>>(WED) A study was released noting that, since 2000, voters have approved
>>transportation-related ballot measures at more than double the rate of
>>other measures. The study, entitled “Transportation Finance At The Ballot
>>Box” and released by the Center For Transportation Excellence, said that
>>voters in 33 states approved 70 percent of proposed measures, which in
>>turn generated more than $70 billion in funding. The study analyzed more
>>than 200 state and local transportation-related ballot measures proposed
>>since 2000. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)
>>
>>(THU) The Department of Homeland Security announced the breakup by British
>>officials of a plot to bomb planes operating between Britain and the U.S.
>>The plot involved explosive liquids being carried aboard planes and then
>>mixed and detonated, which in turn prompted an immediate ban of liquids
>>being carried on planes and the raising of the air threat level to
>>“severe.” While not raising their threat level, transit agencies announced
>>that they would remain on “heightened alert” and increased security
>>patrols on subways, buses and commuter trains. Amtrak reported that,
>>following announcement of the plot on Thursday and compared to the same
>>date last year, train reservations increased 26 percent, as travelers
>>increased consideration of rail as an alternative to flying. (ffd: Amtrak,
>>wire services)
>>
>>STATS - TRAFFIC:
>>
>>(THU) For the week ending August 5, 2006, U.S. carload rail traffic was up
>>1.2 percent from the comparable week last year, up 0.4 percent in the East
>>and up 1.9 percent in the West. Notable traffic increases included metals
>>and metal products up 15.4 percent, chemicals up 7.0 percent, and coal up
>>5.7 percent; notable traffic decreases included nonmetallic minerals down
>>27.1 percent, coke down 24.8 percent, and motor vehicles and equipment
>>down 18.1 percent. Also for the week, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was up
>>5.1 percent, Canadian carload rail traffic was up 4.5 percent, Canadian
>>intermodal rail traffic was up 10.8 percent, Mexico’s Kansas City Southern
>>de Mexico’s carload rail traffic was down 6.6 percent and KCSM’s
>>intermodal rail traffic was down 2.1 percent.
>>
>>For the period January 1 through August 5, 2006, U.S. rail volume grand
>>totaled 1.03 trillion ton-miles, up 2.8 percent from the comparable period
>>last year. Also for this period, U.S. carload rail traffic was up 1.5
>>percent, U.S. intermodal rail traffic was up 6.4 percent, Canadian carload
>>rail traffic was down 1.4 percent, Canadian intermodal rail traffic was up
>>6.2 percent, KCSM’s carload rail traffic was down 5.4 percent, and KCSM’s
>>intermodal rail traffic was down 6.6 percent. (ffd: AAR)
>>
>>MORE STATS - OPERATING PERFORMANCE:
>>
>>(NOTE: Effective October 1, 2005, railroads that had been furnished
>>operating performance statistics to the Association of American Railroads
>>began applying a new standardized definitional framework, aimed at
>>eliminating differences in calculation methodology. Concurrent with but
>>unrelated to these changes, Canadian National elected to no longer furnish
>>these statistics.)
>>
>>(WED) For the week ending August 4, 2006 and versus the previous week,
>>average total cars on line was as follows: BNSF, 224,106 cars versus
>>225,136 cars; Canadian Pacific, 80,550 cars versus 79,831 cars; CSX,
>>225,974 cars versus 226,534 cars; Kansas City Southern, 26,490 cars versus
>>26,751 cars; Norfolk Southern, 202,463 cars versus 201,299 cars; and Union
>>Pacific 320,455 cars versus 318,460 cars.
>>
>>Also for the week ending August 4, 2006 and versus the comparable week
>>last year, average train speed was as follows: BNSF, 22.4 mph versus 22.5
>>mph; Canadian Pacific Railway, 24.8 mph versus 22.9 mph; CSX, 19.4 mph
>>versus 19.7 mph; Kansas City Southern, 24.4 mph versus 21.5 mph; Norfolk
>>Southern, 21.7 mph versus 22.3 mph; and Union Pacific, 21.0 mph versus
>>21.3 mph.
>>
>>Finally for the week ending August 4, 2006 and versus the comparable week
>>last year, average terminal dwell time was as follows: BNSF, 24.3 hrs
>>versus 25.1 hrs; Canadian Pacific Railway, 20.1 hrs versus 21.7 hrs; CSX,
>>26.0 hrs versus 28.3 hrs; Kansas City Southern, 21.1 hrs versus 23.8 hrs;
>>Norfolk Southern, not available this week this year but 21.7 hrs this week
>>last year; and Union Pacific, 26.7 hrs versus 28.4 hrs. (ffd: AAR)
>>
>>EXPANSIONS, CONTRACTIONS AND ALIKE:
>>
>>(MON) Arizona Eastern Railway announced plans to build a 10-mile line in
>>and near Safford, AZ to serve a new Phelps Dodge Mining Company copper
>>mine and proposed industrial park near the city’s airport. AZER presently
>>operates 135 miles of line. An AZER spokesman said that work on the $22
>>million project, which will include building a 500-foot bridge across the
>>Gila River, is scheduled to begin in mid-2007 and should be complete by
>>the following year. (ffd: Progressive Railroading, Railway Age)
>>
>>(TUE) Union Pacific filed to discontinue the existing traffic control
>>system on its Tennessee Pass Subdivision between Dotsero, CO and West
>>Belden, CO, totaling approximately 55 miles of the line. In its filing, UP
>>said that its discontinuance request was “in connection with a limited
>>reopening of the line.” (ffd: FRA)
>>
>>(THU) American Railcar Industries announced that it would construct an
>>additional rail car manufacturing plant next to its existing plant
>>manufacturing tank cars at Marmaduke, AR. An ARI spokesman said that the
>>new plant will be able to manufacturing tank, covered hopper and-or
>>intermodal cars, with an initial capacity to output 2,500 new cars per
>>year. The spokesman added that the new plant should be open by early 2008.
>>ARI also has manufacturing facilities in Paragould, AR and Kennett, MO.
>>(ffd: Progressive Railroading)
>>
>>(FRI) The Surface Transportation Board approved Norfolk Southern’s earlier
>>request to discontinue service over approximately 11 miles of line between
>>Halls Ferry, NC and Badin, NC. (ffd: STB)
>>
>>APPOINTMENTS, ACHIEVEMENTS AND MILESTONES:
>>
>>(TUE) Kansas City Southern appointed Ted Prince VP-Intermodal Sales &
>>Marketing. Mr. Prince was most recently with Optimization Alternatives
>>Ltd. and was earlier with “K” Line America and the former Conrail. (ffd:
>>KCS Corp.)
>>
>>(WED) Long Island Rail Road President James Dermody announced his
>>intention to retire effective September 1. Commenting on Mr. Dermody’s
>>retirement after 48 years’ LIRR service, United Transportation Union LIRR
>>General Chairman Michael Canino said, “This is a real true American
>>success story…He started as a ticket clerk at 17?and he rose to be the
>>presiident of the railroad?He was at his desk at five in the morning and
>>aat eight o’clock at night.” A successor to Mr. Dermody was not
>>immediately named. (ffd: New York Newsday)
>>
>>(FRI) Mark Rosenker took the oath of office as the new chairman of the
>>National Transportation Safety Board. Mr. Rosenker first joined the NTSB
>>board in 2003. (ffd: NTSB)
>>
>>(FRI) The U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment of James Simpson as chief
>>administrator of the Federal Transit Administration. Mr. Simpson was most
>>recently CEO of Victory Worldwide Transportation and was also a member of
>>the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority board of directors from
>>1995 until 2005. (ffd: Progressive Railroading)
>>
>>* * *
>>
>>Weekly Rail Review is edited from public news sources and published weekly
>>to those working in, or interested in, rail and transit. Send an e-mail to
>> to receive it, with my compliments.
>>
>>BE SAFE AND PROSPER,
>>Dave Mears
>>Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA

[~Z~]

Looks like the whole thing fit here, thanks for posting.
Ahhh..the advantages of an updated board