Wednesday midday rail news:
NJ Transit to change plans for rail power plant
Bowing to a series of protests from environmental groups and neighboring communities, NJ Transit will change its plans for a power plant to provide backup power to its rail system. NJ.com reports the Transitgrid project, which was to be a natural gas plant, will now be a solar and battery-storage facility. The 140-megawatt generator is part of a larger project to provide electricity for the Northeast Corridor, parts of the NJ Transit Morris and Essex lines, and the transit agency’s Hudson-Bergen light rail line in case of a power outage. It is funded in part by federal Hurricane Sandy resiliency funds.
Indiana grade crossing site of second train-truck collision in less than 24 hours
A grade crossing in Indiana has seen a second train-vs.-truck collision in less than 24 hours. The West Bend News reports that a train hit a truck at State Line Road in Edgerton, Ind., about 9 a.m. Drone footage of the accident scene posted on YouTube shows a three-unit Norfolk Southern train hit the truck and split its trailer in half. Another train-truck collision occurred at the same site about 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the newspaper reports. No injuries were reported in either accident.
TransLink CEO Desmond to step down
Kevin Desmond, CEO of Vancouver, British Columbia’s TransLink, informed the agency’s board of directors he will step down as of February 2021. Desmond, CEO since 2016, will return to the U.S. to pursue other opportunities. “We want to thank Kevin for his outstanding leadership of TransLink since 2016,” board chairman Tony Gugliotta said in a press release. “… Without a doubt, we are sorry to see him step away from the CEO role, but Kevin is leaving behind an organization that is stronger and more responsive to our customers and our communities, and better prepared than ever for the future.” The board will retain an executive search firm and begin a global search for a new CEO.
