Digest: Transport Canada issues new rules on track maintenance

Transport Canada issues series of new rules on track maintenance

Transport Canada issued new rules on track inspection and management on Monday updating the agency’s Rules Respecting Track Safety on a number of fronts, to be addressed in three stages. As outlined in a ministerial order, the first stage addresses training, verification, and record-keeping for inspection and repairs; requires railroads to develop and follow plans for management of welded rail, rail wear, and rail surface management; and establishes new thresholds for track geometry conditions requiring action. Phase two revises rules on track inspection frequency and establishes rules for use of automated track inspection, while phase three establishes requirements for concrete ties, inspection of yard tracks, and development and reporting of key track requirements. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in a press release that the changes “will help ensure improved inspection and maintenance practices become a permanent part of safer railway operations in Canada” and demonstrate the government’s commitment to address recent criticism by the nation’s Auditor General [see “Digest: Canada’s Auditor General criticizes Transport Canada safety oversight,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 26, 2021].

Maryland governor vetoes bills on MARC expansion, Purple Line project

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has vetoed a bill which would have required the state’s Department of Transportation to study possible expansion of MARC commuter rail service into Western Maryland. The Delmarva Daily Times reports Hogan called the study “duplicative,” and said both the study and potential expansion were too expensive, with the study costing more than $1 million in each of the next two fiscal years, and “no clear path to accomplish the stated goals … without expending significant resources in the future.” WTOP Radio reports the bill also would have provided funding to help address a backlog in transit maintenance; it also carried a provision creating a grant program to aid businesses that have lost income during construction of the Purple Line light rail project. Another bill vetoed by Hogan would have provided $500,000 for marketing the Purple Line.

Restoration of all  ‘Missouri River Runner’ service still months away

Full restoration of service on Amtrak’s St. Louis-Kansas City Missouri River Runner could still be two to three months away, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Service was reduced from two daily round trips to one in March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Missouri’s House of Representatives sought to keep service at that reduced level. But that requirement was removed from the state Department of Transportation budget by the state Senate, allowing the state DOT and Amtrak to begin talks. A spokeswoman said the state agency is waiting for Gov. Mike Parson to take final action on the state budget before finalizing an agreement with Amtrak.