Thursday morning rail news:
— It may take one to three years for Metra ridership to return to 2019 levels after the coronavirus pandemic — if it gets there at all. The Chicago Tribune reports that is the assessment of the commuter railroad’s chief financial officer Thomas Farmer, as delivered in a online board meeting Wednesday. Current estimates are that Metra’s April ridership will be only 3% of the figure for April 2019, and that the agency will lose more than $500 million in ticket and sales tax revenues by the end of 2021.
— Railcar manufacturer The Greenbrier Companies has suspended production at its factory in Portland, Ore., because of the economic impacts of COVID-19. Greenbrier said in a press release that it shut down intermodal double-stack production at its Greenbrier Gunderson plant — which had run almost continuously for 25 years — a week ago, reflecting a surplus of intermodal cars as well as declining intermodal traffic. It will shut down its refrigerated and insulated boxcar line in July, when current orders in progress are complete, although that line could restart when the coronavirus crisis subsides. About 200 Greenbrier Gunderson employees will be affected. , the company announced in a press release.
— Portland, Ore., transit agency TriMet and Denver’s Regional Transportation District are among the latest agencies to sign on for today’s “Sound The Horn” salute to essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic; its buses, light rail, and commuter trains will be sounding their horns at noon Pacific time, 1 p.m. Mountain time, as part of the salute. Amtrak and commuter rail agencies across the country will be part of the salute [see “’Sound The Horn’ salute grows to include commuter rail agencies nationwide,” News Wire Digest, April 15, 2020].
