WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board on Tuesday (Nov. 5) granted requests by Amtrak and Southern California’s North County Transportation District to dismiss long-running cases before the board. Amtrak had requested that the board dismiss its request for an order requiring CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern to allow operation of Gulf Coast service between New […]
Section: News Wire
Horseshoe Curve funicular reopens after $150,000 overhaul
ALTOONA, Pa. – The trackside park at America’s oldest train-watching site – Horseshoe Curve, on Norfolk Southern’s Pittsburgh Line in west-central Pennsylvania – is again accessible to all visitors. Closed since the end of the 2019 season by a seemingly endless cycle of mechanical, operational, electronic, and software issues, the funicular or inclined-plane railway that […]
Chicago’s CTA returns rail service to pre-pandemic level
CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority has returned to pre-pandemic levels of rail service, with a 20% increase in weekly train trips, the agency said on Monday, Nov. 4. The change means more than 1,200 additional rail trips per week compared to the spring 2024 schedule, according to the CTA, and covers all eight rail […]
Norfolk Southern names Carpenter as vice president law
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has appointed Joseph H. Carpenter IV as vice president law, the company announced on Monday (Nov. 4). Carpenter will lead the company’s law department, guiding legal efforts and advancing regulatory initiatives. He will report to Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Jason Morris, who was named to that position in […]
BNSF worker killed when vehicle is struck by train (additional update)
NEW ROCKFORD, N.D. — The driver of a BNSF maintenance-of-way vehicle was killed Monday, Nov. 4, when the vehicle was struck by a train, KFGO Radio reports. The collision occurred about 11 a.m. Eddy County Sheriff Paul Lies told the station that the vehicle was hit when it was backing across railroad tracks about 2.5 […]
Amtrak’s Winter Park Express ski train expands dates, route
DENVER — Following several years of growing ridership and sold-out trains on many weekends, this ski season’s version of Amtrak’s Winter Park Express will advance its previous January debut into December, and then will operate five days per week beginning Jan. 9. The train will operate Friday, Saturday, and Sunday on Dec. 20-22, Dec. 27-29, […]
FRA slows Class I railroad implementation of improved track and train inspections
WASHINGTON – In the wake of the disastrous hazardous materials derailment last year in East Palestine, Ohio, the Federal Railroad Administration has repeatedly said it’s doing everything it can to improve rail safety. Yet under Administrator Amit Bose the FRA has stymied Class I railroad efforts to combine automated track and equipment inspections with traditional […]
East Broad Top wins $1.6 million state grant to restore two bridges
POGUE, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program has awarded the EBT Foundation $1.6 million to restore two steel bridges on a portion of the narrow gauge East Broad Top tourist railroad’s dormant main line. A major boost for the EBT, a national historic landmark, the grant will aid the line in its push […]
OmniTRAX to serve P&G plant in Ohio
LIMA, Ohio — Rail and logistics firm OmniTRAX has been selected to provide switching for Procter & Gamble’s laundry-products factory in Lima, the third P&G manufacturing served by the OmniTRAX network. The new agreement became effective Nov. 1. OmniTRAX affiliate OmniTRAX Lima Industrial will switch daily inbound cars to the plans and return empty cars […]
Operator in CTA Yellow Line collision faces dismissal: news report
CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority train operator involved in last year’s collision between a Yellow Line train and snow-removal equipment likely faces firing, the CTA says, but it has been unable to act because the individual remains off work because of injuries suffered in the incident. The worker was found to have a blood-alcohol […]
Full-court press continues on trespassing, safety near tracks
CHICAGO — Operation Lifesaver’s “See Tracks-Think Train!” nationwide information blitz during the last week of September was the latest attempt to heighten public awareness of inherent dangers around railroad property. A recent symposium sponsored by the Chicago-area DuPage Railroad Safety Council took that initiative a step further, featuring presenters who discussed the scope of recent […]
New York, Susquehanna & Western promotes Held
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Alan A. Held has been promoted to vice president of transportation at the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway, the company has announced. Held has been with the railway since 2022. He has been responsible for operation of transload facilities, overseeing of personnel managmenet, managing Federal Railroad Administration compliance, and developing rulebooks […]