With a BNSF Railway unit in the lead, a Mexico-bound empty auto rack train pulls into Robstown, Texas, on Kansas City Southern tracks in November 2017. Bill Stephens The trade deal reached by the U.S. and Mexico this week — which The Wall Street Journal dubbed “half a NAFTA” — may be positive for railroads […]
Section: News Wire
Restored Maine 2-footer to make public debut Sept. 8 NEWSWIRE
No. 2 before restoration. Boothbay Railway Village BOOTHBAY, Maine – A steam locomotive from one of Maine’s most obscure two-foot gauge railroads is making its public debut after an extensive restoration. Boothbay Railway Village’s S.D. Warren 0-4-0T No. 2 will be under steam on Sept. 8 for a day-long celebration marking the completion of its […]
Russian teen fighting for life after electrocution on rail bridge NEWSWIRE
Kaliningrad, Russia Google Maps KALININGRAD, Russia — A 16-year-old boy is fighting for his life after climbing atop a railroad bridge and grabbing on to an electrified catenary wire. A U.K. website reports that the teenager climbed on to the railroad bridge in western Russia and grabbed the catenary and pretended to be shocked. A […]
Southern boxcar comes to life in North Carolina NEWSWIRE
SPENCER, N.C. — The North Carolina Transportation Museum has restored Southern Railway No. 550555 to its original commemorative paint scheme. In 1970, the 50-foot cushioned boxcar was the 200,000th freight car built by Pullman-Standard at their Bessemer, Ala., plant. The factory opened in 1929. Southern Railway president W. Graham Claytor Jr. and Pullman-Standard president George […]
Amtrak says it will not run trains on routes without PTC (Updated) NEWSWIRE
A Southwest Chief inspection special pauses at Garden City, Kan., on July 11, 2014, to pick up city officials. Bob Johnston RATON, N.M. — Amtrak will not operate passenger trains on lines without positive train control after Dec. 31, 2018, a top official for the passenger railroad says — a decision which could lead to […]
Durango & Silverton ridership down 27 percent NEWSWIRE
A train for Silverton departs Durango in June 2015. Brian Schmidt DURANGO, Colo. – Ridership on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is down 27 percent this year due to shutdowns related to wildfires and mudslides, the Durango Herald reports. Since June, the railroad has had 54,000 cancellations as a result of a wildfire […]
STB won’t step in — yet — to resolve Chicago Union Station dispute NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are refusing at this time to step in and resolve a disagreement between Metra and Amtrak over use of Chicago Union Station, but are keeping the door open to intervene should Metra raise valid objections in the future. In a five-page decision released by the Surface Transportation Board on Aug. 22, […]
California short line rebuilds bridge, plans steam-powered celebration NEWSWIRE
No. 14 heads west out of Piru in April 2016. Luke Renish FILLMORE, Calif. – A one-year-long effort by California’s Fillmore & Western Railway has culminated in the completion of the new 45-foot Hunn Creek Bridge in Santa Paula and the reconnection of the railroad with the Union Pacific and the outside world. A number […]
Georgia opens new inland port served by CSX NEWSWIRE
Georgia’s new Appalachian Regional Port opened on Wednesday. Georgia Ports, via Twitter CRANDALL, Georgia — The Appalachian Regional Port, Georgia’s second inland port, has opened in the northwest part of the state to accept goods to be shipped into and out of the state. The $26 million port, about 100 miles northwest of Atlanta, opened […]
FRA releases latest PTC data for second quarter of 2018 NEWSWIRE
A partial screen image capture from the Federal Railroad Administration’s quarterly update on railroads’ progress implementing positive train control. Federal Railroad Administration website WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration today released the 2018 Quarter 2 status update on railroads’ self-reported progress toward implementing positive train control systems. The latest data, current […]
Michigan partners with CSX and Amtrak to replace high-traffic diamond NEWSWIRE
WAYNE JUNCTION, Mich. — Crews with Amtrak, CSX Transportation, and their contractors, successfully replaced a four-diamond railroad crossing in Wayne as part of a planned maintenance project. A railroad diamond is an intersection between two or more rail lines, in this case, owned by the Michigan Department of Transportation and CSX. The project was funded […]
Rock Island streamliners to join ‘Joliet Rocket’ event; Trains to sponsor night photo session NEWSWIRE
Rock Island E6 No. 630 will be part of a night photo session sponsored by Trains on Sept. 15. Rob Schriener CHICAGO, Ill. — The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, Metra, and Iowa Northern Railway are partnering to transport historic streamlined Rock Island locomotives Nos. 652 and 630 to LaSalle Street Station for Nickel Plate […]