More Friday morning rail news:
— The driver of the train was killed and three others were injured Thursday night when a freight train collided with a portion of a bridge that had fallen onto the tracks at a construction site in Augen, Germany. Railfreight.com reports the train operated by the Swiss company BLS was en route from Freiberg, Germany, to Italy on the so-called “Rolling Road,” where trucks are loaded onto railcars to pass through the Alps. The route is likely to be closed until at least Monday because of damage to the tracks and catenary.
— Railcar manufacturer Trinity Industries has made changes among its executives and warned of potential negative impact on its business because of the COVID-19 virus. Effective April 1, Eric R. Marchetto was appointed chief financial officer, succeeding Melendy E. Lovett, who will return to her previous position as chief administrative officer. The role of group president, Trinity Rail, has been discontinued. W. Relle Howard returned to his previous position as chief information officer from his role as vice president and chief administrative officer. Trinity saiid was withdrawing its financial guidance from its Feb. 19 year-end earning call “in light of the uncertain impact of COVID-19.” In a press release, CEO and President E. Jean Savage said, “While we are not able to estimate the ultimate impact of COVID-19 and the decline in crude oil prices on demand for railcars and our businesses at this time, we anticipate that these events will have a negative and potentially material impact on our financial performance in the near term.”
— The Illinois Commerce Commission has announced a 5-year, $315-million program for grade crossing safety projects, including proposals for 23 bridges for highway-rail separation, four pedestrian bridges, more than 330 grade-crossing projects, and low-cost improvements at over 1,000 crossings. Among the projects are three in Springfield, Ill., previously reported on News Wire [See “Trains News Wire Digest for Thursday, April 2.”] The full list is available as a download here.
