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November 2015
— by Pat Foran, Editor
Attendance wise, Railway Interchange 2015 exceeded organizers’ expectations. Information-gathering and trend-tracking wise, it exceeded ours, too.
Held Oct. 4-7 in Minneapolis, the every-other-year mega-rail event showcased the latest technology, services and research by members of the Railway Supply Institute, Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association and Railway Systems Suppliers Inc. (RSSI) The total registered attendance was 9,571 — a record for the combined exhibition and technical conference, the event’s organizers said in a press release. Railway Interchange 2015 featured 687 exhibits (652 indoor and 35 outdoor) and a host of technical presentations and discussions developed by the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association and the Coordinated Mechanical Associations.
Any opportunity to listen to and talk with industry folk is a good thing for us, and as opportunities go, this year’s Interchange was particularly good. In addition to the news we gathered (posted in ProgressiveRailroading.com’s Daily News and Rail Product News sections), there were undercurrents that’ll lead to stories and conversations in the months ahead. We heard questions about railroads’ 2016 spending plans and PTC. “Internet of Things” related technology was on display, especially in the RSSI hall — you didn’t have to wade too deep into the aisles to see evidence of Big Data’s creep into rail country, and you’ll see more evidence of it in our coverage, as well. There also was some fretting about the recent spate of rail supplier mergers and the potential for more change in that realm.
Change — how might it manifest itself in 2016? We’ll share what we’re hearing in our annual outlook coverage, which will be published next month.
On Oct. 29, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced that it had issued $500 million in funding for the seventh round of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program, and rail-related projects will receive nearly half of it.
The USDOT received 627 eligible applications requesting a total of $10.1 billion for transportation projects, or 20 times the competitive grant program’s available funding, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx wrote in his Fast Lane blog. More than $245 million of the $500 million available TIGER funds went to rail projects, according to the OneRail Coalition, which in a press release commended USDOT’s “recognition of rail’s inherent efficiency, safety and environmental benefits in moving freight and passengers.” The 18 rail-related projects that will receive grants involve short lines, ports, and intercity passenger- and commuter-rail services.
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