More Tuesday morning rail news:
— The Wilmington, N.C., City Council is scheduled to vote today on a $2.5 million contract for engineering work on a plan to relocate a CSX Transportation rail line out of the city and turn the existing right-of-way into a light rail system, a concept which could cost $1 billion. The Port City Daily reports the council will consider a contract with AECOM Technical Services of North Carolina for engineering, environmental, and historic review work for the project to create a new route to the Port of Wilmington [see “Wilmington, N.C., plans studies for possible $1 billion relocation of CSX line,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 20, 2020]. Funding for the contract comes from a Federal Railroad Administration grant and the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
— The pilot of a towing vessel moving 30 grain barges on the Mississippi River misjudged currents when he struck a Kansas City Southern bridge in Vicksburg, Miss., the National Transportation Safety Board has found. Waterways Journal reports the accident occurred at about 7 a.m. on Feb. 27, 2019, when the MV Chad Pregracke hit the third pier of the bridge, sinking one barge and damaging four others. It was the sixth time the bridge was hit in a one-year period.
— NJ Transit will build a natural gas power plant as part of a project to provide electricity to the Northeast Corridor, two NJ Transit lines, and as a backup for one light rail line. NJ.com reports the 140-megawatt generator is part of the larger NJ TransitGrid Traction Power System, a $546 million program. The facility in Kearny, N.J., will also include a 4-acre installation of solar panels. A federal grant will fund $410 million of the project, with the rest coming from NJ Transit’s trust fund.
— A crew member of a Norfolk Southern train was injured Monday when a weed-spraying truck hit a train in Montgomery County, Va., derailing two cars. WDBJ-TV reports the accident was reported about 2 p.m. and the tracks were cleared by 9 p.m.; the crew member was hospitalized with minor injuries. Hazmat teams were briefly involved because the train included cars of propane, but no leak occurred.
