Norfolk Southern again hit by technology issues

Norfolk Southern logo

ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern operations were disrupted by an outage at its data center on Friday night, the railroad reports, the second time in little more than a month that technical issues have affected rail operations. The railroad said in a statement that the issue, which affected dispatching, train movements, and its terminal operating system, […]

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Tugboat strikes FEC-Brightline drawbridge in Stuart, Fla.

Boat approaches open drawbridge

STUART, Fla. — The Florida East Coast Railway drawbridge over the St. Lucie River was rendered impassible to marine traffic today (Saturday, Sept. 30) after being struck by a tugboat pulling a barge, according to information from Brightline posted on the Martin County Board of County Commissioners Facebook page. The tugboat struck the northwest fender […]

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BNSF, SMART-TD reach agreement on scheduling, sick days

Logo of SMART-TD union

FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division (SMART-TD) have reached an agreement to allow for more predictable scheduling and paid sick days for all ground service employees, the parties have announced. Thursday’s announcement says the tentative agreement, after several months of negotiations, follows […]

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The Hills Line with James McNab | Adventures in tracklaying, Episode 15

In this episode, Host James McNab embarks on a journey to elevate model railroading skills by exploring cutting-edge methods. Specifically featuring the use of Central Valley tie strips to build hand laid trackwork. With the objective of encouraging modelers to employ fresh techniques, James demonstrates the process on his portable HO scale Hills Line module, […]

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First passenger trains to return to Gotthard Base Tunnel

Red and white passenger train on double-track mountain route

BERN, Switzerland — Passenger trains will begin returning to the Gotthard Base Tunnel as of this Friday, Sept. 29, SBB, the Swiss Federal Railways, announced today. One southbound train will be operated through the tunnel on Friday and one northbound train will run on Sunday, helping address peak autumn weekend demand on the route to […]

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CPKC trains collide in Ontario, derailing 13 cars

CPKC logo

MacTIER, Ontario — Thirteen cars of a Canadian Pacific Kansas City freight train derailed about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday after a reported collision with another train, CTV News reports. CPKC said in a statement to the network that no injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were involved. Two of the cars were carrying plastic pellets […]

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Weekly U.S. rail traffic up for a second straight week

Weekly table showing U.S. carload rail traffic by commodity type, plus intermodal totals

WASHINGTON — U.S. weekly rail traffic showed gains over 2022 figures for the week ending Sept. 23, the second consecutive week of improvement after traffic has been below year-earlier figures for most of 2023, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. The week saw 493,232 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.8% increase over […]

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Colorado changes team for Moffat Tunnel lease negotiations

Yellow locomotive and passenger cars at tunnel.

DENVER — The state of Colorado has changed its negotiating team addressing the expiring lease for the Moffat Tunnel, with the state’s Department of Transportation taking over from the Department of Local Affairs to lead negotiations with Union Pacific over use of the state-owned bore through the Rocky Mountains. The website Colorado Newsline reports that […]

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BNSF settles suit over biometric data

Trucks and containers at intermodal yard

CHICAGO — BNSF Railway reached a settlement last week in a biometric data privacy case in which it had initially been assessed a $228 million penalty, only to have that award thrown out on appeal. Reuters reports that the railroad reached a settlement with a group of truck drivers over claims that BNSF illegally collected […]

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