N&W 611, shown at Jamestown, N.C., in September 2018, will move to N.C. Transportation Museum after its tour at Strasburg, Pa. Trains: Jim Wrinn SPENCER, N.C. — Norfolk & Western Class J No. 611, restored to life at the N.C. Transportation Museum in 2015, will return to Spencer in 2019 for special events this fall […]
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco-area transit agencies will study the possibilities of integrating their fares to reduce commuting costs. The San Francisco Examiner reports that the Clipper Executive Board, representing transit executives from the region, has approved the study, which will take 12 to 14 months. The $599,839 cost will be covered by residual funds from […]
LONG BEACH, Calif. — The impact of scheduled railroading on Canadian National’s intermodal network 15 years ago may show the path CSX Transportation, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific will follow as they embrace the operating model of the late E. Hunter Harrison. CN slashed low-margin services, shut terminals, and shed volume while […]
Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Sept. 14, 2019. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 526,734 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.8% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending Sept. 14 were […]
SEATTLE — Amtrak has begun maintaining and repairing locomotives at a recently opened, $32 million service station in Seattle, just south of King Street Station. The 330-foot-long, 55-foot-high repair shop will work on locomotives used on Amtrak’s Cascades service, the Empire Builder, and Coast Starlight, as well as locomotives used on Sound Transit’s Sounder commuter […]
TORONTO — Ontario transit agency Metrolinx has announced it will buy 36 new bilevel railcars from Bombardier for GO Transit. The order will include 31 standard coaches and five accessible cars, and will add more than 6,000 new seats for GO Transit operations. The cars will be built at Bombardier’s Thunder Bay, Ont., plant, which […]
The interior of one of the new heated waiting areas at Metra’s Healy station. The station was completed earlier this year but formal opening ceremonies were held Tuesday. TRAINS: David Lassen A conductor announces information for passengers as a Metra Electric train stops at the Homewood Station in 2016. Homewood has received funds for a […]
DENVER — The Colorado Department of Transportation is close to buying a closed Union Pacific rail yard near downtown Denver, which could figure into the state’s efforts to begin Front Range passenger rail service or could help address a bottleneck in Denver’s light rail system. Colorado Public Radio reports that Colorado DOT would like to […]
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Trailers will not be disappearing from intermodal trains anytime soon, despite their status as an ever smaller niche in a world dominated by domestic containers that can be double stacked. Trailers enjoyed an intermodal moment in the sun last year, with volume spiking nearly 15% as truckers couldn’t find enough over-the-road […]
Rebuilt GP40H-2B No. 4024, an ex-Penn Central unit, pushes NJ Transit Main Line train No. 1118 out of Secaucus toward Hoboken in August 2019 afternoon. Additional PTC funds ensure that this unit will be able to operate until replacement locomotives arrive at the end of 2020. Ralph Spielman NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit’s board of […]
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Norfolk Southern will redesign its intermodal network the same way it brought merchandise traffic under the umbrella of Precision Scheduled Railroading: Improve terminal operations first, then make sweeping changes to road trains. Last year, under its shift to Precision Scheduled Railroading, NS began clean-sheeting its yard and local network. Then, on […]
PORTLAND, Ore. — A second westbound lane has been opened on Portland’s North Going Street Bridge, damaged by a Union Pacific derailment on Sept. 7. The lane was reopened Sunday, the Oregonian reports. Two locomotives and three tank cars derailed, hitting and damaging two support beams, which led to damage to the bridge deck. [See […]
