PHILADELPHIA — The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority on Friday averted a strike that would have shut down trolley, subway, and bus service, reaching an agreement with its largest union, Transport Workers Union Local 234. The one-year agreement was reached about 4:30 a.m. Friday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, and must be ratified by a majority of […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Virginia Railway Express seeks to add Saturday service
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Virginia Railway Express is in discussions with its host railroads over plans to launch Saturday service for the first time in the commuter operator’s 31-year history, the Washington Post reports. The move is part of VRE’s effort to lure riders back to the system in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The […]
CPKC and CSX urge regulators to reject NS request for pause in review of Meridian & Bigbee transactions
WASHINGTON – Canadian Pacific Kansas City and CSX Transportation told the Surface Transportation Board today that there’s no reason to grant Norfolk Southern’s request for a delay in review of their proposals to create a new through route linking the Southeast and Mexico via Myrtlewood, Ala. Earlier this month CPKC and CSX filed separate applications […]
Work begins to replace Metro-North’s Park Avenue Viaduct
NEW YORK — Work has begun on rebuilding of the Park Avenue Viaduct, the 130-year-old elevated route to Grand Central Terminal and Harlem-125th Street Station that is used by 98% of Metro-North Railroad trains — a project Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi pointed to as the most important state-of-good repair project faced by the Metropolitan Transportation […]
Louisiana, Amtrak advance Baton Rouge-New Orleans rail project
BATON ROUGE, La. — Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner joined outgoing Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on Thursday to ink a service development agreement that is the first step in launching service between Baton Rouge, the state capital, and New Orleans. After a ceremony at New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal, Gardner and Edwards, along with Amtrak […]
CN, CPKC say U.S.-bound container traffic has not returned since July strike at British Columbia ports
For more than a decade, British Columbia ports have won market share from U.S. West Coast ports for containers bound to Chicago and the Midwest — but that long-term trend has reversed in a matter of months due to the two-week dockworkers strike at Vancouver and Prince Rupert. The July strike prompted U.S. importers to […]
Norfolk Southern takes issue with proposed CPKC-CSX shortcut that would use Meridian Speedway
WASHINGTON — Norfolk Southern has asked federal regulators to suspend review of the Canadian Pacific Kansas City and CSX Transportation proposal to create a new through route linking the Southeast and Mexico via Myrtlewood, Ala. Earlier this month CPKC and CSX filed separate applications seeking Surface Transportation Board approval to acquire and operate Genesee & […]
Brightline launches process to add station north of West Palm Beach
MIAMI — Brightline has begun the process of adding an intermediate station on its recently opened extension to Orlando, Fla., today issuing a Request for Proposals for the “Treasure Coast” area of St. Lucie and Martin counties, north of West Palm Beach. The company will accept proposals from private or public land owners along the […]
Green Line extension could see two weeks of night closures to repair track-gauge issues
BOSTON — The contractor responsible for out-of-gauge construction on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Green Line extension is proposing a series of overnight shutdowns to rectify the problem, WBZ-TV reports. MBTA CEO Phillip Eng told a meeting of the agency’s advisory board that the contractor is proposing a shutdown of the 4.7-mile extension from 9 […]
CSX, Signalmen’s union complete second agreement on paid sick time
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Corp. has announced ratification of a second agreement covering paid sick leave with members of the Brotherood of Railroad Signalmen, this time with approximately 200 workers on the company’s L&N property. The agreement announced today (Oct. 25) follows a similar deal last with 400 members of the same union on CSX’s […]
NTSB report on conductor fatality calls for new rule on shoving moves
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board is calling for new rules regarding crew members riding shoving moves through grade crossings as a result of a fatal October 2021 accident in Houston, Texas. The board has recommended that crew members be prohibited from riding such moves through crossings equipped only with warning lights or passive […]
First VIA Siemens trainsets begin serving Toronto
TORONTO — After months of service limited to a handful of round-trips regularly operating between Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City, a VIA Rail Canada Venture trainset made its Toronto debut Tuesday, rolling into the company’s Toronto Maintenance Centre Tuesday after bringing passengers from Ottawa on train no. 41. The first trip was celebrated with a […]