January 2022 NRC Bulletin |
|
|
NRC Updates and Announcements |
|
Thank you NRC 2022 Conference Attendees! |
|
NRC 2022 Conference and NRC-REMSA Exhibition Attendees,
Thank you for attending the NRC 2022 Conference & NRC-REMSA Exhibition in Phoenix, AZ! We would like to thank all attendees, exhibitors, speakers, sponsors, and anyone else who contributed to making this one of the best conferences yet. To view more information about the conference and upcoming conferences, please click here to visit our website.
We look forward to seeing you all in 2023 for the 44th NRC Conference and NRC-REMSA Exhibition in Boca Raton, Florida January 4-7, 2023!
|
|
Thank you to our NRC 2022 Conference Sponsors! |
|
Save-the-Date: NRC Annual Equipment Auction is April 28 - virtual and in-person
Mark your calendars for April 28, 2022 for the 18th Annual NRC Equipment Auction! The NRC and Delta Railroad Services will be hosting our annual construction and maintenance equipment auction in-person and virtually on April 28. More details regarding registration and attendance will be emailed in the coming weeks.
A percentage of the equipment consigned to sell helps fund the NRC Safety, Training, and Education Program, and the seller keeps the rest. For donated equipment, 100% of the proceeds go to the NRC Safety, Training, and Education Program which helps to fund NRC safety videos and training programs such as Part 243 Templates. Please visit the NRC website for more information.
We highly encourage all contractors, suppliers, and railroads to sell and/or donate their equipment. If you have a large item you are thinking about moving or having difficulty getting off your lot, then please contact NRC staff at info@nrcma.org and Thomas Blackmon Jr. of Blackmon Auctions at thomas@blackmonauction.com.
Auction Details:
Location: Delta Railroad Services, 2950 Industrial Park Drive, Austinburg, Ohio 44010
Date/Time: Thursday, April 28, 2022
A link/and more information regarding attendance to the auction will be made available in the coming weeks.
Equipment and Bidder Registration: To register equipment for sale or donation, or to register as a bidder, please email NRC staff at info@nrcma.org and Thomas Blackmon Jr. of Blackmon Auctions at thomas@blackmonauctions.org.
Equipment Inspection: Contact Thomas Blackmon at thomas@blackmonauctions.com for equipment inquiries.
Shipment & Delivery of Equipment: The 2021 auction is virtual, to schedule shipment or delivery of equipment following the auction, please contact Thomas Blackmon Jr. of Blackmon Auctions at thomas@blackmonauctions.com
|
|
NRC Members: Submit Available Job Postings and Internship Opportunities!
The NRC is now soliciting job postings for internships from our member contractors and suppliers for the NRC’s new Internship Job Board. This comprehensive Internship Job Board will provide a convenient way for our members to gain exposure for their internships and attract the most qualified students. It also will make it easy for college-age students studying in relevant programs, such as engineering and construction management, to find internships that match their interests and location.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Forward this information to the H.R. or hiring manager for your company.
-
Ask them to populate information about your company’s internship(s) here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GHKF7BN by 2/11/2022. Note - If you have more than one internship, you will need to complete the form for each open internship.
- The NRC will post it on our website and begin promoting it the week of February 14.
- Questions? Contact info@nrcma.org.
|
|
NRC Member EVRAZ NA Hosts Senator Hickenlooper for Tour of EVRAZ Pueblo
On January 27, NRC member company EVRAZ NA hosted Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO) for a tour of EVRAZ Pueblo. Hickenlooper, who was elected to the Senate in 2021, serves on the Senate’s Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
Skip Herald, CEO, EVRAZ NA, led the tour group through the new rail mill and discussed the economic and environmental benefits of the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal. “That bill is going to be the largest climate investment in the history of the country and companies like EVRAZ in Colorado and all over the country are going to stand to benefit from that investment,” said Senator Hickenlooper. Photograph (names L to R): Mike McGonagle, former Governor of Colorado Roy Romer, Dave Ferryman, and Senator John Hickenlooper.
"It was a pleasure hosting Senator Hickenlooper and his staff at our facility today. Getting the opportunity to tour our facility, talk about the state of the rail industry in Colorado, and hear from the Senator about the happenings in DC was a great experience," said Dave Ferryman, senior vice president, Pueblo Business Unit at EVRAZ NA and member of the NRC Board of Directors. To view more online, please click here.
|
|
Save-the-Date: Railroad Day on the Hill is March 9 and 10
The NRC, AAR, American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) and other industry groups are pleased to announced that Railroad Day on the Hill is March 9-10, 2022 and will be virtual again this year! Although this has historically been an in-person event, the realities of visiting Congressional office buildings at the moment dictate that this event must be virtual again. Registration will open soon, so look for information via email and social media. There will be no cost for registration.
The benefits of virtual Railroad Day include: increased the range of possible participants, it eliminates travel time and costs, it allows participants to more easily integrate Railroad Day into their regular work schedule, and provides increased flexibility on the scheduling of specific meetings. Railroad Day on Capitol Hill, whether in person or online, has grown into one of the most organized and comprehensive industry days “in Washington,” and it allows those in the freight rail industry to make connections with D.C. lawmakers who are responsible for formulating legislation that affects freight rail operations and business practices.
|
|
USDOT Releases RAISE NOFO
On January 28, the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) released the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the FY 2022 Rebuilding Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant program. The program will provide up to $1.5 billion in FY 2022 discretionary grant funding for rail, transit, road and port infrastructure projects. The application deadline is April 14 at 5pm ET; selections will be announced no later than August 12.
This is the first discretionary funding program to accept applications as directed by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. "The RAISE program helps communities large and small fix and modernize their infrastructure,” said Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “This year, thanks to the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we can support more projects than ever, and help make our transportation system safer, more accessible, and more sustainable for people across the country.” To read more on the announcement, please click here. To view the NOFO, please click here.
|
|
CN Announces Tracy Robinson as President and CEO
On January 25, Canadian National (CN) announced that it had appointed Tracy Robinson as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of its Board of Directors, becoming effective on February 28, 2022. On February 28, Robinson will succeed Jean-Jacques Ruest as President and CEO. Ruest will officially remain with the railroad as an advisor until March 31 to ensure a seamless transition.
Robinson will join CN from TC Energy, where she is Executive Vice President, President of Canadian Natural Gas Pipelines and President of Coastal GasLink. Prior to TC Energy, Robinson spent almost three decades at Canadian Pacific. She has 35 years of operational management, strategy development and project execution experience to drive growth and profitability to CN, company officials said. Robinson will become the second woman to helm a North American Class I, following Katie Farmer who became BNSF Railway Co.'s President and CEO.
"We are pleased to have appointed a world-class CEO to lead CN during our next phase of growth and announced that we are continuing to add more highly qualified independent directors to our board. We have appreciated the input we have received from our shareholders throughout this process and are very excited about all that CN can achieve as we build the railway of the future," said CN Chair Robert Pace. To read more, please click here.
|
|
FRA Workplace Safety Symposium: April 5-7 in St. Louis
For the first time in Federal Railroad Administration history, the Federal Railroad Administration is hosting a collaborative safety event tailored to the industry's track maintenance and construction groups.
The symposium will be held from April 5-7 at the Union Station Hotel in St. Louis, MO and will be kicked off by brief general session, followed by up to 10 different breakout sessions attendees can participate in.
To register, please click here. If there is a topic you would like to see addressed, but you are not sure who could lead this session; or if you have any other questions about the symposium, email us at FRASymposium@dot.gov.
|
|
Industry News and Updates |
|
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has denied a request to extend the procedural schedule for the board's proposed reciprocal switching regulations. All procedural dates remain unchanged, including those for the public hearing beginning on March 15, STB officials said. The decision, and the scheduled public hearing, concerns the proposed reciprocal switching regulations under which the STB would exercise its authority to require rail carriers to establish switching arrangements in certain circumstances. The STB will determine after the March 15 hearing whether to allow supplemental written comments.
On January 27, NRC member R.J. Corman Railroad Co. announced the purchase of two branches from Norfolk Southern Railway to create the Knoxville and Cumberland Gap Railroad LLC (KXCG). The new railroad will manage a 59-mile line that runs from Clinton, TN to Clairfield, TN and a 72-mile line that runs from Beverly, TN across the Cumberland Gap into Middlesboro, KY. “We see a lot of potential for growth, expansion and economic development in the region, and we look forward to providing our customers with our first-class quality service with safety-first operations,” said Ed Quinn, president and CEO of R.J. Corman Railroad Group.
On January 26, Patriot Rail Co. LLC announced the appointment of Sam Sexhus as president and chief operating officer, where he will be responsible for supporting the company's strategic, operational, and growth objectives. Sexhus has more than 25 years of rail industry experience. Most recently, he was vice president of strategy and technology at BNSF Railway Co. He also previously served as BNSF's VP of transportation and VP of service design and performance.
The New York State Senate confirmed Janno Lieber as the Chair and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority following his nomination on January 8 by Governor Kathy Hochul. Lieber has been serving as MTA Acting Chair and CEO since July 2021, and now becomes the 15th Chair since MTA's inception in 1968. “I’d like to thank Governor Hochul and the Senate for their confidence,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “Bringing back customers is our single highest priority and that means providing the safest, most reliable, and most affordable service we can.”
|
|
The NRC is a trade association representing businesses from across the nation in the rail construction and maintenance field. NRC members range in size from small family businesses to the largest companies in the industry. NRC members perform work for transit, commuter, intercity passenger, industrial, and freight rail customers, with services including track construction and maintenance, grade crossings, signal and communications installation, bridge construction and repair, rail yard work, and many more. The NRC strives to put an emphasis on rail safety and quality while proudly serving the rail industry |
|
|
|
|
|
|
