Progressive Railroading

CMC Railroad LLC, the rail service partner for Gulf Inland Logistics Park in Dayton, Texas, has closed on a $87.9 million credit facility with Bank of Texas. The facility refinances CMC Railroad's existing debt and provides additional financial capacity to expand rail infrastructure, storage capacity and operations at the park. CMC's rail switching, rail-car storage and related services are critical components of the park's rail-served industrial platform, park officials said in a press release.

South Carolina Ports has selected Patrick McCrory as chief operating officer, a role in which he will lead SC Ports' more than 500-person operations team, which is responsible for running container terminals, roll-on/roll-off and breakbulk operations, intermodal and two rail-served inland ports. He will begin his new role on Oct. 5.

Amtrak's Mardi Gras service marked its first anniversary of service on Aug. 18 with strong ridership numbers; the twice-daily service between New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama, logged 150,000 customer trips in its first year, Amtrak officials reported in a press release. When the route opened in 2025, it was the first time in 20 years that Amtrak had been able to serve that area of the Gulf Coast.

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) yesterday adopted a procedural schedule for the consideration of the revised merger application filed by Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway. When the board accepted the railroad's revised application for consideration on May 28, it also placed the proceeding in abeyance and directed UP-NS to submit supplemental information by July 27.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHRSRA) is evaluating two potential locations near Fresno and Hanford for a proposed Central Valley Heavy Maintenance Facility (HMF) to support long-term operations of the future high-speed rail system. The HMF would serve as the primary location for inspections, servicing, maintenance, overhaul and major component replacement for the high-speed train fleet, CHSRA officials said in a press release.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has been awarded a nearly $300 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to improve safety, reliability and capacity of passenger-rail service along the Piedmont Corridor, department officials announced in a press release. The grant will fund the Piedmont Corridor Safety Program.

Amtrak announced today that Charles "Wick" Moorman will be the national intercity passenger railroad's next president and chief executive officer, starting Sept. 1. Moorman retired last year as chairman, president and CEO of Norfolk Southern Corp., then served a short time as the Class I’s executive chairman. He will succeed Joseph Boardman, who announced earlier this year that he would retire in September.

Rail RFPs - All current Requests for Proposals The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) will be seeking proposals for a Centralized Train Control (CTS) system for rail transit operations. The intent is to identify and select a commercial, off-the-shelf solution with implementation to begin later this calendar year. The RFP will be posted on August 21, 2026.

Chicago-based rail car lessor Modern Rail Capital (MRC) today announced Kevin McHugh will serve as the company's new president effective Sept. 1. He will succeed Kevin Cook, who has been the company's president since 2021. Cook will serve as an advisor to the MRC board. McHugh joined MRC in August.

The Regional Transportation District-Denver (RTD) has introduced its new RTD CONNECT Community Ambassador Program, which aimsto provide community feedback to help shape the regional transit network's future service plans. RTD CONNECT is an 18-month, districtwide operational analysis project that willevaluate the agency’s transit network and develop short- and long-term service plans, RTD officials said in a press release.