G&W Agrees to Consent Decree on Loco Emissions

Short line holding company Genesee & Wyoming has agreed pay up to $42 million to settle an environmental complaint brought by the federal government.

G&W was accused by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of violating the Clean Air Act by operating rebuilt locomotives that failed to meet emissions standards.

The complaint also charged G&W with failure to perform emissions-related maintenance or keep maintenance records.

EPA officials said in a news release that the settlement with G&W is expected to reduce tons of nitrogen oxide and particulate matter pollution and improve air quality.

The dispute began in 2018 after G&W owned railroads failed to upgrade 11 of 885 locomotives to the appropriate emission standards. G&W characterized that in a statement as having been an inadvertent oversight.

The statement said the consist decree G&W agreed to will provide environmental benefits “that significantly exceed any adverse impact associated with the violations alleged by the government.”

In rebuilding the locomotives in question, G&W agreed to use the latest technology to reduce emissions; to ensure it does not purchase or sell locomotives that have been rebuilt without conforming to emissions standards; to remove from service and destroy 88 older locomotives not required to meet EPA emission standards; to replace scrapped locomotives only with units subject to and meeting EPA emissions standards; and to pay a $1.35 million civil penalty.

Short Line Holding Companies Describe Capital Spending Plans for 2023

Executives of three short line holding companies that do business in Ohio and its surrounding states outlined their respective capital spending plans for this year during a conference of the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association.

The executives noted in their remarks that fueling their plans has been the availability of new federal grants for infrastructure projects.

Kristine Storm, Genesee & Wyoming’s vice president, procurement, said plans include replacement of 875,000 ties and 437 miles of rail.

G&W infrastructure spending for 2023 is $473 million, up from $410 million in 2022. The distribution of the engineering and mechanical funds will see 31 percent go to ties, 22 percent to rail, 12 percent to mechanical, 10 percent to surfacing, 8 percent to bridges, and the remainder to six other categories.

Other work to be done this year includes more than, 2,000 miles of track surfacing, $45 million in bridge work, replacement of 90 turnouts, rebuilding more than 300 grade crossings, and more than 100 new grade crossing signals.

G&W plans to install 54,000 feet of new track in six sidings and two yard projects.

Watco expects to increase spending on maintenance capital from $97.2 million in 2022 to $132 million in 2023.

Tom Holmes, Watco’s vice president, purchasing and materials, said that will include $42.1 million for ties and surfacing, and $12.5 million for bridges.

Watco has been awarded $155 million in Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement grants with five of those grants devoted to rail infrasture projects. The other grant is for a battery locomotive project.

OmniTRAX plans to allot 80 percent of its capital budget to track, crossings, and signals. Bridges will receive half of the remaining funds, with 6 percent for buildings, 3 percent for locomotives and 1 percent for other items.

G&W Releases ESG Data

Short line railroad holding company Genesee & Wyoming last week issued its 2022  environmental, social and governance data report summarizing achievements for its holdings. Among other things, G&W said it had reduced emissions as it worked toward its goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 42 percent by 2035

The report said G&W railroads continue to deploy fuel-saving technologies across its global locomotive fleet to help it reach that objective.

G&W also noted that it has invested $280 million worldwide in its infrastructure and rail equipment.

This included 2021 expenditures of more than $240 million of capital to strengthen and expand infrastructure in North America.

The ESG reports can be downloaded at the G&W website at https://www.gwrr.com/community/sustainability/

ORDC Supports 4 CRISI Grant Applications

The Ohio Rail Development Commission has approved supporting four grant applications to the Federal Railroad Administration.

The four projects are seeking a collective $52 million in federal Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement grant funding.

The four projects include a $4.3 million project by R.J. Corman to rebuild track near Dover and Clinton. The track rehabilitation would eliminate slow orders and restore FRA Class II track speeds.

In the Cincinnati region, Norfolk Southern, CSX, and Genesee & Wyoming, are cooperating to review and establish priorities for projects that would reduce congestion in the vicinity of /Queensgate Yard.

The Kanawha River Railroad and NS are seeking $32.5 million to rebuild a rail route between Columbus and Cornelia, West Virginia.

NS owns the track but rail operations are conducted by the KRR, a subsidiary of short line holding company Watco.

The project will eliminate slow orders and restore Class II track speeds across the line.

In western Ohio, the Napoleon Defiance & Western is seeking $13.2 million to complete rehabilitating track between Defiance and Napoleon.

The project would bring the entire line back to a state of good repair.

G&W Says Shippers Invested $1.5B in 2021

Genesee & Wyoming said this week in a news release that its shippers had invested $1.5 billion in industrial development along its 103 U.S. railroads last year.

Those investments involved 69 projects that G&W said will generate more than 1,000 new jobs.

One of those projects is located in Delta, Ohio, which will receive from the Indiana & Ohio Railway inbound coils to make pipe.

G&W said it is the fourth steel customer to expand business along the I&O since 2015.

Another project includes a wind-turbine trans-loading site in Remington, Indiana, served by Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway.

G&W said it maintains a database of more than 600 potential industrial development properties across its U.S. railroads.

G&W to Create New Dispatching Center

Short line holding company Genesee & Wyoming plans to build a new dispatching center in St. Albans, Vermont.

The 10,000-square foot facility will be located in vacant site and replace an existing dispatching office located in St. Albans.

G&W will lease the space to be occupied by the dispatching office. The company had considered moving its dispatchers elsewhere but the City of St. Albans responded with an economic development package.

G&W dispatches its properties from St. Albans, including the Indiana & Ohio.

G&W Plans 2 Ohio Capital Projects in 2022

Short line holding company Genesee & Wyoming plans two major capital projects in Ohio this year, Trains magazine reported on its website.

G&W has received a $7.8 million grant that will be used to make improvements in Delta on the Indiana & Ohio.

The work includes installing 40,000 feet of rail, 1,5000 ties, 10 miles of surfacing, 10 turnouts, and a 7,450-foot siding.

In Lima on the Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern, G&W will undertake a $9 million project to install 10.85 miles of welded rail at eight locations, and reconfigure a yard.

In all, G&W plans to spend $375 million in North America this year for capital projects, which railroad officials said is the highest capital spending figure in any of the past six years.

Much of that work will involve ties and rail for 900,000 ties and 336 miles of rail.

Crew Shortages Affect Short Lines, Too

Crew shortages spurred by employees leaving for other jobs and a dearth of applicants for the openings they leave behind have spread to short line railroads.

As reported by Trains magazine on its website, executives from a number of short line holding companies told an industry conference that in some instances short lines have been able to hire former Class 1 railroad workers despite the lower pay and benefits offered by short lines.

Short lines also offer more predictable working hours with operating personnel often able to return home at night once they complete their shift.

A Genesee & Wyoming executive told the conference the number of workers leaving G&W railroads doubled during the third quarter.

The article can be read at: https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/train-crew-shortage-spreads-to-short-lines/

CSX Willing to Give up PAS Ownership

CSX CEO James Foote said during a conference this week that his company is open to giving up its half ownership of Pan Am Southern if it is allowed to acquire Pan Am Railways.

PAS ownership is currently split between Norfolk Southern and Pan Am. PAS provides NS with access to Boston.

CSX has proposed keeping its PAS ownership but giving operating control of it to a neutral party, a subsidiary of short line railroad conglomerate Genesee & Wyoming.

However, some critics of the CSX-Pan Am deal have argued that the G&W subsidiary – Berkshire & Eastern – is not necessarily a neutral party.

Speaking to the North American Rail Shippers conference on Thursday, Foote said, “It was our partner in that initiative that thought we should do it this way.”

PAS oversees the former Boston & Maine west of Ayer, Massachusetts, and a north-south route along the Connecticut River in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

Among those opposing CSX plans for PAS are the U.S. Justice Department, Canadian Pacific, and Vermont public officials.

All have said the manner in which CSX has proposed to handle PAS raises competitive concerns, saying CSX is already the dominant freight railroads in New England.

Foote said he is baffled by why CP wants to route its New England traffic through the Hoosac Tunnel, which cannot accommodate double-stack intermodal traffic.

 “We’ve got a super deluxe double-stack railroad, but they don’t like it for some reason,” Foote said about his company’s Boston & Albany route.

CSX Describes Plans for Pan Am

In a filing with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, CSX has detailed its plans to rebuild regional carrier Pan Am Railways once it acquires it.

The plans include rebuilding the mainline over a five-year period, getting rid of older locomotives and installing positive train control over the full length of Pan Am track used by Amtrak’s Downeaster service between Boston and Brunswick, Maine.

Track that is now limited to 10 miles per hour will be upgraded to 25 mph standards. Most of this trackage is outside of lines used by Amtrak of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter trains and tends to be in Maine.

Yard tracks will be rebuilt to reduce derailments and improve yard operations.

CSX did not say how much its track rehabilitation program for Pan Am will cost.

The CSX filing said Pan Am has 102 locomotives whose average age is 40.6 years. The locomotive plan calls for using higher horsepower road locomotives that will enable the Pan Am fleet to be reduced in number.

Thirty-three Pan Am locomotives will be sold to Genesee & Wyoming’s Berkshire & Eastern, the designated operator of the 425-mile Pan Am Southern network jointly owned by Pan Am and Norfolk Southern.

CSX plans to keep Pan Am’s four-axle units but many of the six-axle units are General Electric C40-8s and C40-8Ws that CSX pared from its own roster years ago.

All of Pan Am’s locomotive and railcar shops will be kept, CSX said.

In time, CSX expects to operate fewer but longer trains over Pan Am, particularly after track is rebuilt for higher speeds.

The CSX-Pan Am merger is currently under review by the STB and CSX hopes to finish the transaction by Feb. 18, 2022, with a takeover date of March 20, 2022.