Friday morning rail industry news:
Progressive Rail seeks to end 10-year deal to operate line in Santa Cruz, Calif.
Minnesota-based shortline company Progressive Rail wants out of its 10-year contract to operate a 32-mile line serving Santa Cruz, Calif., after just two years, according to the government agency that owns the line. The Aptos Times reports that the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission posted a notice on July 1 that Progressive, which operates the St. Paul & Pacific on the former Southern Pacific branch line, intends to terminate the agreement, citing “illegal activities by third parties, including trespassing,” according to a transportation commission spokeswoman. She said the commission is working to resolve this issues and would have no further comment; the newspaper was unsuccessful in efforts to obtain a comment from the railroad. The California line is one of 13 Progressive operations in nine states, according to the company’s website.
NRE CEO Beal dies at age 46
National Railroad Equipment Corp. CEO Steven Beal has died at age 46. The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports Beal was found dead in the pool at his Ladue, Mo., home on Saturday. Beal had assumed leadership of the company upon the death in 2010 of his father, Lawrence, who had founded the company in 1984. The company’s board of directors named NRE’s Patrick Frangella, Beal’s brother-in-law and the company’s chief operating officer, and Rob Riley, the company’s controller, to serve as members of an executive committee to oversee the company until a new CEO can be selected. It also has offered condolences and support to Beal’s wife and two children, sister, and mother in the wake of what it calls an “unthinkable tragedy.” VRE, headquartered in Mt. Vernon, Ill., is the world’s largest independent locomotive supplier.
CSX honored for disability inclusion
For the second straight year, CSX Transportation has been named a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” by Disability:IN, a non-profit resource for business disability inclusion, and the American Association of People with Disabilities. The company scored 90% on the Disability Equality Index, which measures disability inclusion in culture, leadership, organization-wide access, employment practices, and community engagement.
