Roanoke plant still empty after FreightCar America exit
More than two years after FreightCar America left town, eliminating about 200 assembly jobs, the buildings once occupied by the railcar manufacturer in downtown Roanoke remain empty. Chicago-based FreightCar America opened its Roanoke plant in 2005, leasing space at the East End Shops, a locomotive workshop and maintenance complex of about 900,000 square feet of […]
Norfolk Southern names new VP of government relations
Norfolk-based Norfolk Southern Corp. announced on Tuesday that its board of directors has elected Frank Voyack as the company’s vice president of government relations, effective May 1. Voyack succeeds Marque Ledoux, who is retiring after 18 years with the Fortune 500 freight railroad. In his new role, Voyack will lead Norfolk Southern’s efforts in Washington, […]
Va. finalizes $3.7B rail expansion agreement
Virginia will have more train service in the next decade, as Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday the formalization of a $3.7 billion rail expansion package in Virginia, the tenets of which were announced in late 2019. The state signed agreements with Amtrak, CSX and Virginia Railway Express at a ceremony Tuesday. According to the governor’s […]
Metro Rail managers cleared of allegations, but workplace is ‘disrespectful and unprofessional’
Following a three-month investigation into Metro’s Rail Operations Control Center (ROCC), the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced Friday that complaints of racial discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation by senior rail officials were unsubstantiated — but that disrespect and unprofessional conduct is commonplace there. San Francisco-based law firm Littler Mend[...]
Plasser American Corp. announces $52.6M Chesapeake expansion
Railway equipment manufacturer Plasser American Corp. will invest $52.6 million to expand its operations in the city of Chesapeake, creating 98 jobs, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday. Plasser American Corp., which manufactures railway construction and maintenance equipment, will add a 45,000-square-foot, three-story office building and an 82,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. The comp[...]
Norfolk Southern moving Roanoke distribution center, locomotive shop to Pennsylvania
Norfolk-based Norfolk Southern Corp. (NS) is moving its Roanoke distribution center and locomotive shop operations to Pennsylvania, the company announced Tuesday, affecting a total of 104 employees in the Roanoke Valley area. The Fortune 500 rail transportation company will move those jobs and its associated work to Altoona, Pennsylvania, with 19 clerical positions eliminated. Roanoke’s [&he[...]