Saguenay, Quebec-based Entretien Ferroviaire Boivin, Inc. has joined the Association of American Railroads as a Silver Associate Member.

Company services include a wheel shop, wheelset reprofiling, axle repairs, and wheel and bearing replacement. Other services include purchasing and recuperation of railroad equipment and materials and an engineering and construction department that specializes in trackwork.

Entretien Ferroviaire Boivin is a subsidiary of Groupe Alfred Boivin, also based in Saguenay.

“Joe Boardman is an individual of remarkable insight and passion,” said Vantuono. “He cares deeply about Amtrak’s customers and employees. His leadership style, quiet and unassuming yet at the same time strong and decisive, has contributed a great deal to Amtrak’s success, in the face of many challenges.”

A video of Railroader of the Year Joe Boardman’s interview with Railway Age can be accessed on the Railway Age website at http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/passenger/intercity/interview-with-joe-boardman-railway-ages-2014-railroader-of-the-year.html?channel=41. The video, shot aboard Amtrak Business Car 10001, the Beech Grove, is sponsored by Amsted Rail.

Video highlights from the interview can be accessed on the Amtrak website at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-CAlPw9ueE&feature=youtu.be.

Boardman’s complete Railroader of the Year interview is available on the Railway Age website at http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/passenger/intercity/railroader-of-the-year-all-aboard-with-joe-boardman.html?channel=41. Additionally, the digital edition of the magazine’s January issue can be accessed at http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/static/railwayage-digital-edition.html.

Highlights from Joe Boardman’s Railroader of the Year interview with Railway Age:

• “Safety is the foundation for any transportation system, because if people don’t trust the safety of our operation, our company, customers aren’t going to flock to the trains. I also have a very important role in increasing revenues and reducing cost. Congress wants that; so does the public. They want to see a system that really produces efficiencies and provides a better service. Those are difficult things to do but they're not insurmountable, and we’re seeing that today. We’re buying equipment, we’re increasing our revenues, we’re increasing our ridership, we’re changing our direction, we have a strategy.”

• “We have an excellent relationship with the freight railroads. They go far beyond for us in many cases. We fight with them over on-time performance and we want to be running first like we’re supposed to and all those kinds of things, but we’ve got good solid people at these freight railroads that understand our needs, that look at what we need to get done, what they need to get done, and work with us.”

• “We in this nation have become so darn negative in tearing down institutions, whatever they are, and are so expert at it that we don’t recognize that we need to stop. We need to join in common cause to move forward on the debt we owe to the future—our grandkids and beyond our grandkids, those who need to grow a global economy for this nation.”

• “Highways, railroads, aviation, ports: The nation is not well-served by those who are lobbying and demanding for only one source, one piece of the infrastructure that needs to be rebuilt. You can add in the water systems, the sewer systems, the electric grid. . . . We need to build infrastructure to grow this nation and grow our economy. It’s not just railroads—it’s all infrastructure.”

• “Railroads have not always worked well together. That’s absolutely critical for us for the future, especially the passenger side, and passenger with freight as well, but it’s a necessity for our nation to begin to find ways to work together, to find ways to advance what we know is going to be needed for the future.”

Joe Boardman is Railway Age’s 51st Railroader of the Year. He is the first Amtrak chief executive since the legendary W. Graham Claytor Jr. in 1989 to be named Railroader of the Year. Boardman will be honored on March 11, 2014, at Chicago’s Union League Club.

Two U.S. Senators are urging the Federal Railroad Administration to mandate cameras on board passenger locomotives and operating cab cars in order to provide detailed information on potential derailments.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) are making the push following the Metro-North derailment Dec. 1, 2013 in the Bronx, N.Y., that killed four and injured 67. The two Senators formally announced their intent Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014, and suggested the Federal Railroad Administration was responsive to their effort.

Blumenthal said he hopes FRA will issue an order rather than follow a longer rulemaking process, because recorded footage of tracks and engineers operating locomotives is necessary to determine culpability in collisions and derailments. He and Schumer seek cameras to record events both outside the locomotive and inside the engineer's cab.

"The whole purpose of cameras is to deter misconduct or mistake, as well as detect track defects or debris or other obstructions on the tracks or on bridges," Blumenthal said Sunday. "I'm hoping they [FRA] do it soon."

Blumenthal believes cameras would have provided insight into other recent incidents, including the derailment of a Metro-North train that sideswiped another last May in Bridgeport, Conn.

A Metro-North spokesman said Sunday that the railroad has no immediate plans to install cameras on trains.

Transport Canada, the Transportation Safety Board, and CN did not identify the origin of the crude, other than that two cars of it were loaded in southwestern Manitoba. That would place it atop the Bakken formation of exceptionally light, volatile crude, but it does not prove it to be the same type of oil that exploded in Lac-Mégantic, rural Alabama, and North Dakota.

New Brunswick Premier David Alward and CN CEO Claude Mongeau both hurried to the derailment to assure 250 evacuees that they would be cared for and compensated. Politicians and railroaders in both Canada and the U.S. are increasingly sensitive to public worry over the succession of oil train explosions. The frequency of the mishaps is causing regulators in both countries to act with uncharacteristic swiftness.

Even as the tank cars were being purposely detonated, railway regulators in Ottawa, Canada’s capital, issued notice of the first in what is expected to be a series of North American rule changes to transform the way crude oil is managed at the transloading terminals proliferating in the western oilfields. Currently, raw crude is transferred from trucks or pipelines into tank cars, usually without treatment or testing. It is disqualified for transport by pipeline because of its toxic and corrosive gas content. Railroads do not have the facilities pipeline companies employ to test the crude oil that railroads, as common carriers, are required to haul.

Under the new Canadian regulations, rail terminal operators will have to test the crude, and an individual employee will have to personally certify the veracity of the hazmat classifications before common carriers are asked to couple up to shipper-owned tank cars. Terminal operators will have six months to conform to the new regulations, though they have been asked to respect current classification rules in the meantime.

Close readings of the most recent advisories and edicts from Washington D.C. and Ottawa reveal the intended solution to the crisis of exploding oil trains: Crude oil will have to be tested and perhaps treated to remove dangerous gases before hazmat classification placards are affixed to tank cars.

Removal of explosive, corrosive, and toxic gases could reduce volatility enough to make Bakken crude safe for carriage in new-generation DOT-111 tank cars. And that would return railroading to the days when a spill of crude oil might be expected to make an awful mess and perhaps burn upon exposure to the sparks of a derailment. But it would not blow up.

The big issue now is the pace of reform in the oilfields, and a retirement timeline for the 78,000 older DOT-111 cars the Association of American Railroads wants removed from the rails, or at least retrofitted to new standards. Transport Canada said it will coordinate with the Federal Railroad Administration in establishing a timeline for replacement of the continental tank car fleet.

Canada’s 30-day notice of regulatory change explicitly adopts the tank-car industry’s heretofore voluntary specifications, in effect since October 2011, for improved DOT-111s. The Canadian regulation falls short of the AAR’s Nov. 14 call for high-flow relief valves and redesigned bottom outlets to prevent them from opening in an accident. By adopting the 2011 industry specification without the AAR’s desired modifications, Transport Canada says it is clearing the way for fabrication of oil tank cars in Canada. Recently, Hamilton, Ontario-based National Steel Car began manufacturing such tank cars.

Industry eyes now swivel from Ottawa to Washington D.C. for insight and guidance. The FRA and its sibling, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), have yet to publish prospective rule changes in the National Register. But they have given clear notice of their intentions. In a safety advisory issued the first business day of the year, three days after the explosion of a BNSF train carrying Bakken oil near Casselton, N.Dak., PHMSA set out a checklist for handling crude at the transloading terminals:

“Based upon preliminary inspections conducted after recent rail derailments in North Dakota, Alabama, and Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, involving Bakken crude oil, PHMSA is reinforcing the requirement to properly test, characterize, classify, and where appropriate, sufficiently degasify hazardous materials prior to and during transportation.”

The reference to degasification is the first formal notice that transloading terminals will have to employ comprehensive testing and treatment to identify and extract dangerous gases before crude is loaded into tank cars. This would match what is already required (and prevailing practice) for shipment by pipeline. Degasification is a known technology widely used to prepare crude for pipeline transport.

PHMSA’s Jan. 2 safety advisory also introduces the notion that oil may have to be tested and treated en route to manage the known chemical evolution of crude during transit.

Among the factors that affect proper classification, according to the PHMSA advisory, are “hydrogen sulfide content and composition/concentration of the entrained gases in the material.” Yet, six months after the series of explosions started, Canadian investigators have yet to reveal any such critical chemical constituents of the crude oil sampled at Lac-Mégantic.

TSB Acting Director of Investigations Daniel Holbrook took exception to Railway Age’s Jan. 3 online article, “Questions cloud Lac-Mégantic crude oil test data,” which reported “the refusal of Canada’s autonomous accident investigators to divulge the chemical composition of the Bakken crude oil.” Holbrook called attention to the TSB’s Sept. 11 rail safety advisory letter, which said the crude involved at Lac-Mégantic had “a flash point of less than -35 °C, and an initial boiling point of between 43.9 and 48.5 ºC.” The advisory letter did not mention anything about the crude’s composition, and there has been no additional release of test information since despite requests by Canadian and U.S. news media.

Holbrook said testing of the oil has not been completed: “The investigation is ongoing and is examining a broad range of items, including a more detailed analysis of the oil samples from the train. We provide updates when there is a significant safety deficiency to report on.” He also said that “the investigation into the Lac-Mégantic tragedy remains a top priority for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. . . . [i]nitial tests on product samples taken from the accident train that showed it was more volatile than documented.”

The U.S. regulator said it will make test results known imminently: “PHMSA expects to have final test results in the near future for the gas content, corrosivity, toxicity, flammability, and certain other characteristics of the Bakken crude oil, which should more clearly inform the proper characterization of the material. . . . PHMSA will share the results of these additional tests with interested parties as they become available.”

The cost of rule enforcement in the oilfields and renewal of the tank car fleet will be borne mostly by shippers, not railroads. The reforms will spare train crews and the public from unnecessary risk, and thus help to restore rail’s social license to compete with pipelines for a share of the crude oil business.

Salpeas, Senior Vice President and Manager of the firm’s Rail & Transit Systems Division, is now Global Rail & Transit Systems Director. In this role, he will focus on sales, marketing, and growth in rail and transit systems markets around the world.

Salpeas (top photo) has more than 30 years of experience in the development of major infrastructure projects in both the public and private sectors. He came to Parsons in 2006 after serving in senior management positions for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. In these positions, he was responsible for managing $10 billion worth of rail project planning, design, and construction programs. Salpeas graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a master’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in systems engineering. He also holds a degree in economics from the University of Athens in Greece.

Steven A. LaRocco has replaced Salpeas as Senior Vice President and Manager of the Rail & Transit Systems Division. In this role, he will be responsible for project performance, customer relationships, profit and loss, and human resources for the 550-person division.

LaRocco has more than 35 years of experience managing major rail transit projects. He has managed several billion-dollar programs around the world, including recently serving as project director for the $11 billion Etihad Rail program in the United Arab Emirates. LaRocco has been with Parsons since 1995, managing some of the firm’s highest profile projects. Before Parsons, he worked for the Long Island Rail Road in positions of increasing responsibility over a 23-year tenure. LaRocco holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., and he has done graduate work at New York Institute of Technology in New York City.

The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) on Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, announced "support for the California High-Speed Rail Authority [CHSRA] and California Governor Jerry Brown's budget proposal that would authorize funding for the state's high-speed rail program, utilizing $300 million of cap and trade revenue."

"The plan to use revenue generated from cap and trade emission policy to invest in rail is a great way to fund California's high speed rail initiatives," BRS President W. Dan Pickett said. "High speed rail is the future and this budget proposal supports that vision. This plan also has the possibility of adding quality jobs to the rail industry. I fully support Governor Brown's plan."

BRS says it represents 11,000 men and women who install, maintain, and repair railroad signal systems and highway-rail grade crossings in the U.S.

BRS emphasized that the CHSRA investment in rail includes upgrades to urban, regional, and intercity passenger rail systems "that improve connectivity and modernize transportation between regions across California. Connecting intercity and urban commuter rail to the high-speed rail system helps California's transportation system.

"High speed rail has been a priority investment of cap and trade funding for several years. Without high speed rail, California's existing transportation infrastructure cannot meet the demands of the projected population growth in the coming decades. Adding more freeways and runways would cost up to three times as much as high speed rail," BRS said.

It is true that the CBR accidents differed from Christie’s debacle in that certain of those accidents involved both loss of life and hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. But the public fallout from both has been significant in the extreme.

Prior to this writer becoming involved in rail equipment finance (and becoming a Railway Age Contributing Editor), I had a career as a corporate lawyer for a major Wall Street bank. I clearly remember my bank dropping various bank products, individual customers, and even whole countries like hot potatoes when significant problems with them became public. It always seemed to the bank management that cauterizing the wound was more important any single element of bank profit.

With this experience in public relations, I have been wondering why none of the major rail carriers, or perhaps the AAR, have “tweaked” to the fact that seeing massive napalm-like balls of flame regularly on the nightly news is something that, in the end, can come up and bite them on the behind. Even worse, while the CBR derailments on this side of the border haven’t involved the loss of life, many of the CBR moves from west to east involve transiting major population areas. Unlike other modes of transportation, the rails still retain virtually complete control of their operations. It would be a shame to lose this well-deserved right.

As far as I am aware, other than making appropriate comments on the need for ongoing safe operations, the rail industry has limited its reaction to CBR accidents to a call for the owners of the cars (non-railroads) to replace older tank cars in CBR service with more modern (and safer) cars over a period of years.

Before I say anything else, let me emphasize that I am a major cheerleader for our rail industry, fracking, and CBR. I never thought that American energy independence was anything I would ever see in my lifetime. I also believe that CBR is an unbelievable opportunity for the rail industry (and have helped promote it at my annual Rail Equipment Finance Conferences).

What concerns me is a belief that if the rail industry doesn’t do something reasonably immediate to take control of its own destiny with CBR rail safety, others—perhaps state, local, or federal legislators or regulators—will do it for them. Further CBR disasters have the potential to harm the public profile the railroads have been diligently and expensively developing over the past decade.

Clearly there is no “good” near-term solution, but this writer would be happy to see one or more railroads take a more aggressive public leadership position on this subject before someone else decides to “lead” their businesses for them.

(Tony Kruglinski is President of Railroad Financial Corp., which in recent years has financed thousands of new and used tank cars.)

“In 1914, our firm opened its doors as a small bridge design partnership in Kansas City, Mo.,” said HNTB Infrastructure CEO Rob Slimp. “Since that day, HNTB has grown to become one of the preeminent transportation infrastructure firms in the U.S., having built a legacy that has helped shape and reshape the world in which we live and work.”

With roots in the design of railroad bridges, HNTB’s capabilities have grown to include a full range of infrastructure-related services, including planning, design, program delivery, and construction management. “Today’s HNTB professionals, totaling more than 3,600 across the country, continue to help transform American transportation and infrastructure,” said Slimp. Among its projects are the design of the new Sixth Street Bridge in Los Angeles; the LYNX Blue Line light rail extension in Charlotte, N.C.; the State Route 99 Alaskan Way Tunnel in Seattle; the “Green Build” expansion at San Diego International Airport; and the new Levi’s Stadium for the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif.

“Across the country, HNTB has built a reputation as trusted consultant to public agencies, toll authorities and the financial community,” Slimp said. “HNTB’s contributions can be seen among the largest, most iconic and complex bridges, highways, airports, public buildings and public works projects across the country. Today, it is the No. 1 consultant to state departments of transportation, and HNTB serves as the general engineering consultant to more U.S. toll agencies than any other firm. Building trust and long-term relationships with our clients is fundamentally how the firm has consistently served them with technically innovative, meaningful work. Some of those relationships have lasted decades.

Harvey Hammond, who has been HNTB’s chairman for 20 years and joined the firm in 1966, said the firm’s dedication to quality and client needs has given it the longevity needed to help shape and reshape America’s modern, multimodal transportation system. “But we’re celebrating more than just longevity,” he added. “We are celebrating our contributions to the infrastructure that moves the people and goods of this country and the thousands of dedicated and talented engineers, architects, planners, and businesspeople who make a difference as HNTB professionals every day.”

Additional anniversary activities are planned throughout the year. HNTB’s 60 offices are performing at least 100 hours of community service in recognition of the value HNTB employees place on the cities and towns where they live and work. “HNTB has endured and evolved for more than a century,” Slimp said. “While the technology available to us continues to advance in exciting ways, HNTB’s integrity—its commitment to our clients, our communities and their long-term success—remains steadfast.”

Congressional conference committee members cobbling together an actual fiscal year 2014 federal budget have reportedly agreed on budgetary numbers fairly favorable to Amtrak and Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) programs. Federal high speed rail funding, however, is omitted entirely.

Amtrak's FY14 budget numbers include $340 million for operations, and $1.55 billion for capital (including debt service); up to $50 million in capital can be "reassigned" to operating needs if necessary.

The appropriations bill does mandate Amtrak "policy reforms," including limits on employee overtime and the ban of federal support for Amtrak routes offering a discount fare of 50% or more of the regular cost, except for when states or other fiscal supporting entities cover the difference.

TIGER funding, used for Small Starts and New Starts projects, increases 20% from FY13 to $600 million.

No federal money is budgeted for any U.S. high speed rail efforts, including California.

About $53.5 billion in "non-discretionary 'obligation limitation' funding" is identified for highways, transit and safety, and airports, based in part on expected receipts from the federal Highway Trust Fund, giving states and agencies some leeway in modal investment.

The bill also includes $185 million for the Federal Railroad Administration to hire 45 more employees to help increase track inspections, a measure sought by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in reaction to the Metro-North derailment last month in the Bronx, N.Y., which killed four and injured 76. 

"For the first time since 2011, no mission of our government will be left behind on autopilot," said Senate Appropriations Chair Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) in a statement Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014.

The American Public Transportation Association says Americans continue to turn to public transit in increasing numbers, totaling 2.7 billion trips in the third quarter, up 1.5% from the comparable period in 2012.

Light rail transit continued its strong performance trend, up 3.1% in the third quarter of 2013 measured against the comparable quarter in 2012. Rapid rail (such as subways) rose 2%. Regional rail ridership rose 1%. Urban bus system ridership advanced 0.7%.

Said APTA President and CEO Michael Melaniphy, "Public transportation ridership continued to grow across the country in large, medium, and small communities during the third quarter of 2013. This continued demand for public transportation demonstrates the value of public transit to individuals and the communities they live in, no matter their size."

Melaniphy said public transit ridership has increased in nine of the most recent 11 quarters spanning 2011, 2012, and most of 2013.

APTA has expressed concern over the failure by Congress to renew a $245 per month pre-tax set-aside for public transit users in 2014; the amount has fallen to $130, while comparative pre-tax offerings to auto users rose by $5 to $250 as 2014 began.

New York State's Court of Appeals on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014, upheld the payroll mobility tax used to help fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), denying a repeal of the tax sought mostly by Long Island political officials.

The challenge to the tax, levying e4 cents on every $100 of payroll, previously was upheld by a Long Island Supreme Court justice but overturned last June by the state's Appellate Division.

Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano last year stated, "We maintain the tax is overburdensome and just plain unfair." Mangano Tuesday said the Court of Appeals decision, while disappointing, still represented a victory for his constituents, since the challenge to the tax has prompted changes in its structuring.

MTA has held throughout that "removal of the tax's revenues would have had a catastrophic impact" on the region's economy and transit operations, including the Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad, and New York City Transit.

Plans for a streetcar circulator in Boise, Idaho's capital, have been revived after six years of dormancy, though modal choice is now up for grabs.

Boise Mayor David Bieter and members of the City Council seek to to solicit ideas and answer questions and concerns, according to city spokesman Vince Trimboli.

"This time around, the city wants to hear the public's ideas first. Which is the right route? What kind of vehicle—bus, streetcar, trolley, etc.— would work best?" Trimboli told local media.

Boise residents and others interested are invited to an Open House at City Hall on Wednesday evening, Jan. 29, 2014. The city hopes to form a steering committee of business people, academics, planning experts and other stakeholders following the meeting.

The Federal Transit Administration already has awarded the a $375,000 grant to study alternatives for improving public transportation within the city's downtown. Boise and its urban renewal agency, Capital City Development Corp., are adding $125,000 in funding to aid the study. Trimboli said, to be conducted by San Francisco-based URS Corp.

It’s working for freight rail. Launched in 1998, RRIF authorizes the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to lend up to $35 billion for railroad infrastructure improvements, equipment, and facilities development.

A successful model, RRIF has helped primarily short-haul rail companies improve, expand, refinance, and acquire freight rail facilities and equipment. Open to railroads, state and local governments, government-sponsored authorities, and corporations, the program provides direct federal loans and loan guarantees for up to 100% of a project’s cost.

Repayment periods are up to 35 years, and interest rates equal the U.S. Treasury rate for comparable-term securities. Though entities must pay a credit risk premium (CRP), the CRP can be reduced with collateral. And those terms have proven attractive.

To date, 33 loans have been executed in 26 states for more than $1.7 billion, with 72% of those loans executed with Class II and III railroads.

And through RRIF, Amtrak will receive 70 new U.S.-built electric locomotives and upgrade maintenance facilities for Northeast Corridor services.

It is now time to transform RRIF into a source of financing for large commuter rail projects.

According to the American Public Transportation Association’s 2012 Fact Book, “The 10.4 billion boardings on public transportation in 2011 represent ridership levels that have grown back to levels that existed at the start of the Interstate highway era.”

Demand for public transportation is real and growing, but oddly, commuter rail demand lags other modes.

“Commuter rail—which connects city centers with suburbs—had the smallest growth of any transit system in the U.S. at 0.5%,” explains Tyler Falk in his article “U.S. cities are building commuter rail, so where are the riders?” (Smart Planet, 6/18/13).

What’s the key? “More service,” Falk says. Greater frequency and interconnectivity will increase ridership, meeting an untapped demand of currently underserved riders.

Falk is right. And that’s why RRIF could become a powerful tool for commuter rail. But Congress must act. Recently, I attended an invitation-only roundtable organized by FRA Deputy Administrator Karen Hedlund, where she sought ideas for expanding RRIF.

Taking a page from the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) for highways, Hedlund rightly sees the opportunity to transform RRIF into a source of low-cost debt capital for commuter rail, with some mode-appropriate changes.

For example, RRIF needs to recognize more than just hard assets as collateral, considering, for example, dedicated, creditworthy revenue streams such as sales taxes. In addition, Congress should consider seeding RRIF with funds to pay the CRP, similar to what it did for the TIFIA program.

Also, with the next round of TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program) federal funding, entities should be allowed to use TIGER grants to pay the credit risk program a la TIGER TIFIA.

In addition, RRIF should create separate loan approval processes for passenger rail projects vs. short line railroads.

Other possible improvements could include:

• Development of credit criteria for greater predictability.

• Use of credit ratings.

• Technical assistance by the FRA and state agencies.

• Use of TIFIA-type letters of interest.

• Use of TIFIA and RRIF in combination (which was done for Regional Tranportation District’s Denver Union Station project).

• Master credit agreements.

• Subordination of other government liens to RRIF.

• Scheduling of critical path activities. Finally, RRIF would need additional funds for staff—bringing on financial and legal consultants—to expedite credit application processing.

But no matter how it is refined, RRIF can make a very real difference in commuter rail.

Soon the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will begin marking up a new rail bill. We should convince them that repurposing the Railroad Rehabilitation Improvement Financing program for commuter rail is an idea whose time has come.

Barney A. Allison, a partner at Nossaman LLP, is a public finance expert recognized for his specialized experience in forming and financing public-private partnerships and other transactions involving private financing to develop infrastructure projects.

CSX Corp. reported fourth-quarter earnings of $426 million, or 42 cents per share, down slightly from $449 million, or 44 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2012. That fell a penny short of Wall Street analyst expectations.

Prior year results included after-tax real estate gains of $57 million, or 6 cents per share, Jacksonville, Fla.-based CSX said late Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014.

CSX said intermodal and merchandise market segments paced fourth-quarter revenue of $3.0 billion, up 5% from 2012's fourth quarter, and also just shy of analyst expectations of $3.01 billion. CSX said it was pleased by the gains which it notched despite what it described as "challenging winter weather at the end of the quarter." But coal volume fell 5%, while coal revenue fell 9% in the quarter compared with the year-ago period.

"Supported by the strength of an expanding economy, we delivered 6 percent volume growth in the quarter, despite another sharp decline in coal," said Chairman, President and CEO Michael J. Ward. "As the economy continues to expand, CSX is well positioned to leverage that environment to create sustainable long-term value for our customers and shareholders."

For 2013 overall, CSX recorded, net earnings were $1.83 per share, up slightly from $1.79 per share in 2012. Revenue rose 2% in 2013 to a record $12.0 billion, operating income remained stable at $3.5 billion, and CSX's operating ratio increased slightly to 71.1%, compared with 70.6% in 2012.

CSX says it remains on target to sustain a high-60s operating ratio by 2015 and achieve a mid-60s operating ratio after that.

Amtrak has announced it will utilize New Jersey Transit's Secaucus Junction Station, located on its Northeast Corridor, to help deliver customers to and from Super Bowl XLVIII, being held at MetLife Stadium in nearly East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014.

"Through an agreement with its partners at New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit), select Amtrak Northeast Regional and Keystone Service trains will be permitted to make special stops at NJ Transit's Secaucus, New Jersey, transfer station prior to and following the Super Bowl. Also, Amtrak will suspend all routine repair work in the Hudson River Tunnels for Super Bowl weekend, allowing for the two available tunnels to remain operational," Amtrak said Jan. 14.

"In addition, the United States Coast Guard has granted Amtrak's request to suspend all non-emergency opening requests from maritime traffic at the Portal Bridge in Newark, New Jersey, on the day of the game. Each of these measures will enhance the overall reliability of Northeast Corridor service between New York and New Jersey for those traveling to and from the game," Amtrak said.

Amtrak normally does not usually serve Secaucus Junction Station, despite efforts from New Jersey rail advocates to consider the market opportunities to tap NJ Transit customers using three rail lines traversing Bergen County, which holds roughly 10% of the Garden State's residents.

Amtrak passengers "presenting a valid Super Bowl game ticket at Secaucus" will be allowed on board NJ Transit's rail shuttle service linking Secaucus with MetLife Stadium. "Amtrak has also designated game day volunteers to staff Penn Station in New York and the Secaucus transfer station to guide passengers to their destinations and answer any questions they may have about getting to and from the stadium."

T&I Committee Vice Chairman John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-Tenn.) will chair the panel; Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) will serve as the ranking member. Duncan also led the Committee’s first special panel of the 113th Congress, which examined the need to improve U.S. freight transportation, and released its report in October. Filling out the panel are Republicans Candice S. Miller (Mich.),
Lou Barletta (Pa.),
Tom Rice (S.C.),
Mark Meadows (N.C.),
Scott Perry (Pa.), and Democrats Peter A. DeFazio (Ore.),
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.),
Rick Larsen (Wash.), and
Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.)

“The panel will examine the current state of P3s in the United States to identify the role P3s play in development and delivery of transportation and infrastructure projects in the U.S., and on the U.S. economy; if/how P3s enhance delivery and management of transportation and infrastructure projects beyond the capabilities of government agencies or the private sector acting independently; and how to balance the needs of the public and private sectors when considering, developing, and implementing P3 projects,” said Shuster. This week, the Transportation Committee held its first hearing on the next reauthorization of surface transportation programs, which it plans to develop this year. The P3 panel’s work can serve as another tool the Committee uses to write that legislation, as well as other initiatives to improve the United States’ ability to utilize available resources and strengthen our infrastructure.”

By the rules of the Committee adopted at the beginning of the Congress, the Chairman can establish special panels to serve for a period of six months.

The Federal Transit Administation (FTA) has granted Milwaukee its request to adjust a portion of its proposed streetcar route through downtown, sought by the city in order to reduce utility relocation costs.

The adjustment request made to FTA came after FTA gave approval to the project a year ago, necessitating an amendment to FTA's Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). The city has held that the route change will not significantly alter the project's goals or potential impacts, and FTA now has concurred.

Federal funding of $54.9 million has been approved for the project. The proposed adjustments could reduce the potential costs of utility relocation by up to $10 million, the city has said.

The reroute moves a north-bound streetcar track from North Broadway to North Milwaukee Street, avoiding the need to move some underground AT&T lines and nearly one-half mile of steam tunnels, as well as 2,000 feet of electrical ducts, City Engineer Jeff Polenske told local media.

Still at issue for Milwaukee is whether the city, the utility companies involved, or both will pay for relocation costs, a concern that has surfaced, sometimes contentiously, in other U.S. cities developing streetcar lines.

Both U.S. freight carload traffic and U.S. intermodal volume failed to gain ground during the week ending Jan. 11, 2014, measured against the comparable week in 2013, the Association of American Railroads reported Thursday, Jan. 16.

U.S. freight carload traffic during 2014's second week fell sharply, down 8.2%, compared with the second week of 2013. U.S. intermodal volume also fell significantly, and out of line with intermodal's usual string of advances, down 6.7%. Total combined U.S. weekly rail traffic was down 7.5%.

Only two of the 10 carload commodity groups AAR measures on a weekly basis posted led by grain, up 10.1%. Declining commodities included motor vehicles and parts, down 22.5%, metallic ores and metals, down 20.3%, and nonmetallic minerals and products, down 16.0%.

Canadian freight carload traffic during the week ending Jan. 11 shared a similar fate, down 11.8%, while Canadian intermodal volume also fell, down 10.2%. By contrast, Mexican freight carload traffic rose 5.0%, while Mexican intermodal volume notched the same percentage gain, up 5.0%.

Combined North American freight carload traffic for the first two weeks of 2014 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads was down 4.5%. Combined North American intermodal volume declined 2.6%.

Independent investment research provider Morningstar, Inc. has named Canadian Pacific chief executive E. Hunter Harrison as its 2013 CEO of the Year. Morningstar annually recognizes a chief executive “who exhibits exemplary corporate stewardship, demonstrates independent thinking, creates lasting value for shareholders, and has put his or her stamp on an industry.”

“This year’s nominees have demonstrated sound stewardship practices on behalf of their firms’ shareholders,” said Heather Brilliant, head of global equity and corporate credit research for Morningstar. “We selected Harrison as this year’s winner because Canadian Pacific has produced outstanding results since his appointment as CEO in June 2012. Harrison has now transformed three railroads in his career, and along the way forged a new standard of profitability in a two-centuries-old industry.”

Harrison, Railway Age’s 2002 Railroader of the Year, was selected over Darren Gee of Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. and John Martin of Gilead Science Inc. for Morningstar’s award.

“It would be difficult to identify another company leader who has revolutionized operations within a mature, asset-intensive industry several times over,” Brilliant said. “Earlier in his career, Harrison steered both the CN and Illinois Central railways to industry-leading margins. His actions in 2013 improved operations for the benefit of Canadian Pacific employees, customers, and shareholders, and positioned the firm for future success.

“Harrison has been a powerful catalyst for change at Canadian Pacific. Following his appointment, he streamlined leadership, operating practices, and assets, both human and steel. He replaced nearly all senior leadership, decreased the work force by 27%, and reduced company-controlled railcars and locomotives by 35% and 43%, respectively. He relocated the firm’s headquarters from downtown Calgary, Alberta, to Ogden Yard, a move that cut costs but also keeps CP’s focus on freight operations front and center for corporate employees. CP is on track to produce a nearly 30% operating margin in 2013 and targets a 35% margin in 2014, a figure nearly double 2011’s level. Shares have soared to C$160.65 as of Dec. 31, 2013, far above the C$70 price in January 2012, when public correspondence between the firm’s board and activist investor Pershing Square mentioned Harrison’s name as a potential new CEO. In 2013, CP’s 61% total return dwarfed the returns of the S&P 500 (32%) and the Dow Jones Transportation Index (41%).

“Remarkably, Harrison has made these changes to CP’s business without harming customer service. The firm’s higher margins and greater return on invested capital will generate additional free cash flow, which can be invested in a virtuous cycle to enhance safety, operations, and customer service, thereby driving down costs even further. We believe this trend will enhance CP’s cost advantage—a key source of its Wide Economic Moat™ rating. CP’s Wide Economic Moat™ is also based on efficient scale; CP has a difficult-to-replicate network of track and assets and operates in an industry effectively served by existing participants.”

Morningstar describes its Economic Moat™ rating as “a proprietary measure of a company’s sustainable competitive advantages. Morningstar assigns each company a rating of Wide, Narrow, or None. A company can obtain an economic moat through five primary sources: Efficient Scale (a limited market where there is little incentive for new entrants), Network Effect (a situation where incremental customers add value for existing customers), Cost Advantage (allowing a company a greater profit margin and/or the ability to steal market share), Intangible Assets (e.g. patents or strong brands), and Switching Costs (making it costly in time and/or money for customers to switch providers).”

Morningstar introduced its CEO of the Year award in January 2000. Winners are chosen by senior members of Morningstar’s equity analyst team based on their independent research.

Tune into CNBC’s January 16, 2014 “Nightly Business Report” to watch an interview with Harrison.

(Morningstar, Inc. is a provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors. Morningstar provides data on approximately 437,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 10 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its registered investment advisor subsidiaries and has approximately $176 billion in assets under advisement or management as of Sept. 30, 2013. The company has operations in 27 countries.)

Not that suppliers are unaware of that fact. Suppliers intent on tapping that pool made their desires clear in 2011 during the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Annual Meeting in New Orleans. It was reinforced by the players bidding in 2012 to build new gear. In 2013, many of those players saw their bids rewarded.

Last year, Railway Age noted that “the supplier numbers multiply, as stalwarts such as Siemens Mobility, already a U.S. powerhouse for light rail transit, face growing competition from relative upstarts who have landed equipment orders, such as United Streetcar, LLC, Pacifica Marine, and Brookville Equipment Corp. Still other suppliers seek to score their first North American streetcar order, KinkiSharyo International and CAF America among them. The potential client list may offer plenty of opportunities in 2013 and beyond, as cities across the U.S. opt for streetcar startups.”

That trend, in fact, did prevail, and shows few signs of a letup as 2014 begins, judging from results compiled for our 2014 Passenger Car Outlook, for both new and rebuilt cars (January 2014 issue, Digital Edition. See pp. 50-51). That survey shows 1,175 cars delivered in 2013, and a backlog of a whopping 5,167 cars—a number that has increased for at least the past five years. Orders for another 2,600 cars (approximately) are expected to be placed in 2014. The five-year (2015-2019) outlook indicates that orders for about 2,700 cars are likely to developed.

Look local, suppliers

The forecast made in early 2013 for suppliers concerning streetcars proved potent and accurate as well, when we wrote: “By the numbers, most streetcar orders are relatively small. But the number of streetcar orders suggests big market changes ahead for the supplier industry.” What’s emerged more clearly, however, is the customer venue, which has taken a distinctly local flavor as municipalities, and even individual neighborhoods of a city, begin to drive the process toward a streetcar purchase.

Suppliers, in short, should take note that, in this case, often it’s not the regional transit agency driving the process (though, per TriMet and DART, assistance is forthcoming). That can be good news, since for suppliers large and small it means an expanded potential customer base.

The emphasis on local activity (and resultant local benefits) is backed by survey results released last June by Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI). The survey, titled America’s Support for Public Transportation, indicates growing support for expanding public transportation, with nearly 74% of respondents amenable to the use of their tax dollars to create, expand, and improve public transportation in their community. The number of respondents increased from an already solid 69% of Americans in support in 2012 to nearly 74% in favor during 2013.

“We are experiencing this surge in support because citizens can see, touch, and feel the economic impact of investing in public transportation,” said American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Chairwoman Flora Castillo. “This survey emphasizes that public transit plays a great role in society because it directly touches people’s lives.”

Still waiting for HSR orders

Comparatively stagnant, by contrast, is the looming orders expected for high speed rail (HSR) equipment to be placed by both Amtrak and the state of California. Early in 2013, the two entities announced their intent to place a joint equipment order to benefit from economies of manufacturing scale, with Amtrak acquiring 32 trainsets and California purchasing 27.

Skeptics pointed out that while such economies were possible, California’s potential order for equipment was aiming for top speeds of 220 mph, while Amtrak’s plans to replace Acela Express gear would only necessitate equipment capable of 160 mph, presumably on the 24-mile “New Jersey Raceway” portion of its Northeast Corridor now being upgraded.

By contrast, Sumitomo Corp. of America and partners Nippon Sharyo in 2013 commenced production of 130 intercity rail cars for use in several Midwest states (led by Illinois), as well as California, part of a multistate effort to generate higher-speed rail (HrSR) service. As noted in 2013, California’s participation in the $352 million contract is noteworthy, since the Sumitomo equipment will be designed for operation at speeds up to 125 mph, making it an interim equipment move for the Golden State.

California can use the equipment already. Last November Caltrans announced record ridership for both Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner route, linking San Diego and Los Angeles, and San Joaquin service, running from Bakersfield to the Bay Area and Sacramento, the state capital, during Amtrak’s fiscal year 2013, ending Sept. 30. Caltrans officials said the Pacific Surfliner had more than 2.7 million riders, while the San Joaquins carried more than 1.2 million passengers.

Tried and true

Rounding out supplier activity, regional (commuter) railcar manufacture was a mainstay during 2013, with SEPTA receiving the final cars of its 120-car Silverliner V electric multiple-unit (EMU) order from Hyundai-Rotem. Kawasaki Rail Corp. continued delivery M-8 EMUs to MTA Metro-North Railroad, even as the supplier landed a huge $1.8 billion joint order from Metro-North and sister Long Island Rail Road for an anticipated 584 M-9 cars.

Bombardier Transportation, meanwhile, wrapped up an NJ Transit MultiLevel car order by delivering the last 56 cars of a 100-car add-on order placed in 2010. Bombardier simultaneously assisted NJ Transit in repairing MultiLevel equipment damaged by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012.

Regional rail equipment deliveries should remain strong during 2014 as several agencies, including established players such as Chicago’s Metra and relative newcomers, such as Somona Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART), receive their respective orders.

Hewing more closely to tradition, the big transit agencies, such as MTA New York City Transit, Chicago Transit Authority, San Francisco’s BART, Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), and Washington’s WMATA, were in the midst of big-number deliveries for their respective rapid transit systems. Those elder statesmen were joined by relative newcomers in rapid transit, such as Miami-Dade Transit and Honolulu’s HART, also anticipating equipment arrival during 2014.