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ASLRRA SVP, Law and General Counsel Sarah Yurasko (pictured far left) has been sworn in as a member of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar; she is shown here at the Supreme Court with her sponsoring attorney Susan Warshaw Ebner of ASLRRA member Stinson (ASLRRA Photograph). MBTA Deputy Director of Administration Katie Kalugin (pictured far right) has earned the WTS 2024 Claire Barrett Member of the Year Award. (MBTA Customer and Employee Experience Department Photograph).
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People News: ASLRRA, MBTA

Sarah Yurasko, Senior Vice President, Law and General Counsel for the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA), has been admitted to the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court. Also, WTS International and its Boston Chapter have selected as member of the year Katie Kalugin, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Deputy Director of Administration.

By spring 2026, Amtrak and CSX, in partnership with the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, will install a PTC system on more than 100 miles of track to support Downeaster service. (Amtrak Photograph)

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, TTC, WMATA

Amtrak and CSX team on a Positive Train Control (PTC) installation between Haverhill, Mass., and Brunswick, Maine. Also, Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) addresses “systemic racism within the transit system”; and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) Takoma Station is reopening early with new amenities and a rebuilt interlocking.

CPKC on June 26 reported via LinkedIn that it has opened its newest automotive facility near Dallas, Tex., to boost vehicle distribution capacity. (Screen Grab of CPKC Video Posted on LinkedIn)

Class I Briefs: CPKC, CSX, NS, UP

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) opens a new automotive facility in Texas. Also, CSX earns a 2024 Navy Employer Recognition Award; Norfolk Southern (NS) launches its 2024 internship program; Union Pacific (UP) EVP Marketing and Sales Kenny Rocker provides a service status report, and UP is teaming with Viterra to serve a new grain facility in Dalhart, Tex.

Pictured: FreightCar America’s Castaños, Mexico, manufacturing plant, which just rolled out the company’s 10,000th railcar. (FreightCar America Photograph)
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Supply Side: FreightCar America, Rail Vision

FreightCar America marks a milestone with the 10,000th railcar produced at its Mexico plant. Also, Rail Vision Ltd. receives a follow-on order from a U.S.-based rail and leasing services company.

CSX debuts its latest heritage locomotive honoring Georgia Railroad. (CSX Photograph, via LinkedIn)

Class I Briefs: CSX, CN (UPDATED With Video 6/28)

CSX adds the 16th locomotive to its heritage fleet, and CN inaugurates a new high-efficiency loading fuel terminal in the Greater Toronto Area. Both Class I railroads are ranked on Time magazine’s inaugural list of the World’s Most Sustainable Companies for 2024.

AAR: Carloads Down, Intermodal Up in Week 25

U.S. rail traffic for the week ending June 22, 2024 (Week 25) was up 3.6% from the prior-year period, as intermodal gains more than offset carload losses, according to the Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) latest report.

Transit Briefs: MBTA, MDOT, Metrolinx, CTA, AtkinsRéalis/NYMTA

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) releases a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) site in Attleboro. Also, the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) announces a TOD vision for Baltimore’s Reisterstown Plaza Metro Station; the original price of the Ontario Line didn’t include all costs, according to Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster; the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) announces the name of the new Green Line Station, which is currently under construction; and AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. (AtkinsRéalis) will work with ECCO III Enterprises Inc. to design and build upgrades to the New York Metropolitan Authority’s (MTA) Broadway Junction Complex.

Phoenix Valley Metro will receive $16 million for the Rio East-Dobson Streetcar Study, which eyes a 4.35-mile extension from Tempe into Mesa, Ariz. (Valley Metro Photograph)

First Look: Rail-Related RAISE Grantees for FY24

More than $310 million in FY 2024 RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) program grants will be distributed to 23 freight and passenger rail-related projects in 19 states, according to a U.S. Department

A new Amtrak station in Brattleboro, Vt., is being built to improve accessibility; it will have the state’s first-ever level boarding train platform. (Rendering Courtesy of Amtrak)

Transit Briefs: Amtrak, MBTA, Metrolinx, Chicago RTA, Sound Transit, SEPTA, TriMet

Amtrak breaks ground on new Brattleboro, Vt., station and platform upgrades. Also, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) teams with Tufts University on a new university pass pilot; Metrolinx’s Eglinton Crosstown LRT in Toronto edges toward completion and Eglinton Crosstown West Extension marks a milestone; Chicago’s Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) advances the launch of an integrated day pass for Metra, CTA and Pace riders; Sound Transit riders in Seattle, Wash., can now add an ORCA fare card to their Google Wallet; and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) increase rules’ enforcement.

Commentary

Bulldoze the Humps?

Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés is said to have ordered his men in 1519, just before they undertook their conquest of the Aztec Empire, to burn their own ships anchored offshore in the