Digest: Reading & Northern owner plans to spend $4-5 million to upgrade newly purchased line

Reading & Northern plans to upgrade new line for 40-mph operation, will look to begin passenger excursions

Reading & Northern owner Andy Muller plans to spend $4 million to $5 million to upgrade the 19.5-mile line he is purchasing from Carbon County, Pa., with the goal of raising track speed from the current 25-mph limit to 40 mph. The Lehighton Times-News reports Muller told the county’s board of commissioners crews will install 70,000 feet of rail, and will also improve pedestrian crossings in the town of Jim Thorpe. He is also looking to begin weekend passenger excursions from Wilkes-Barre to Jim Thorpe, using cars he recently purchased from a bankruptcy sale for former Iowa Pacific equipment in Colorado.

FRA inspector charged with lying about hazardous-material checks in Texas

A Federal Railroad Administration inspector could face up to 40 years in prison after being charged with lying about inspections in official documents. Prerak Shaw, acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, announced that 54-year-old Tremelle Sykes has been indicted on eight counts of false statements. A press release from the U.S. attorney office for the district states Sykes was employed by the FRA as a hazardous materials safety inspector to examine northeast Texas railroads and shippers for compliance with regulations for shipping materials such as ethanol and crude oil. On at least eight occasions during a six-month period in 2019, he is alleged to have falsified reports to indicate he conducted inspections that never occurred. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison for each count.

Pennsylvania Trolley Museum breaks ground on new welcome center

The Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Washington, Pa., has broken ground for a new 21,000-square-foot Welcome and Education Center, part of its On Track for the Future campaign to expand the museum’s east campus to increase programs and events. The new structure, expected to be complete in about a year, will house the visitors’ center, interactive exhibits, classrooms and event room, a ticket office, offices, and store for the museum, which has 50 trolley cars on display. The On Track campaign has raised more than $14 million to date, including a $5 million grant from the Allegheny Foundation and $2.5 million from Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. The museum continues to work to raise an additional $1 million for the new center. More information on the museum is available here.