Memorable train rides: Australia’s ‘Indian Pacific’

man leaning on silver train

Trains David Lassen’s pick: Indian Pacific Name of train: Indian Pacific The route: Sydney-Adelaide-Perth, Australia Duration: Four days, three nights. The current once-a-week schedule has the train leaving Sydney at 1:55 p.m. on Wednesdays and arriving in Perth at 3 p.m. on Saturdays. The adventure: This was both adventure and recovery time after covering the […]

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NTSB releases final East Palestine report

Fire along railroad track at derailment site

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board on Friday released the final report on the Feb. 3, 2023, Norfolk Southern derailment and hazardous chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio — a document finalized by the June 25 meeting held by the board in East Palestine. As indicated at that meeting [see “NTSB issues 31 new […]

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Latest Metro-North anniversary locomotive honors employees

Blue and silver locomotive outside shop building

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Metro-North Railroad’s fifth in a series of specially wrapped locomotives to honor its 40th anniversary has taken a slightly different approach than the first four units, honoring the commuter line’s employees rather than its predecessor railroads. The wrap on PC32AC-DM No. 214 uses a mosaic of photos of past and present […]

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STB calls hearing for Class I railroads to outline plans for growth

Red locomotive with double-stack container cars

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are summoning executives from the six Class I freight railroads to a rare public hearing to explain how their companies plan to invest in and grow their business amid concern over recent negative volume trends. In a notice published today (Friday, July 12), the Surface Transportation Board said it also welcomes […]

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New York begins work to replace aging Albany rail bridge

Steel girder bridge over river

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York state has begun work on a new rail bridge across the Hudson River in Albany to replace a structure with portions dating to 1865, and also awarded funding to tear down a deteriorating, vacant warehouse that led to interruptions of rail service in 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced today. The […]

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Significant delays, cancellations disrupt Amtrak’s network

Passenger train at grade crossing

CHICAGO — Amtrak’s stretched-thin and aging fleet is encountering significant challenges to reliability across the entire system this week as national network trains remain sold out for many segments. Sunset cancelled With Tropical Storm Beryl causing widespread flooding in the Houston area early in the week, Amtrak truncated the eastbound Sunset Limited at San Antonio, […]

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News photos: Big Boy on the road in Nevada and California

Steam locomotive and short train in desert passing below camera location. Elrond Lawrence photo

ROSEVILLE, Calif. — Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 has reached the westernmost point of its current tour, beginning the first of two days of public display today in Roseville. Information on the display is available here. Here are a few images catching up on recent days of the “Westward Bound” tour, with Elrond Lawrence […]

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BNSF derailment in Oklahoma leads to brief evacuation

Image of derailed cars by grain elevator

WOODWARD, Okla. — Eighteen cars of a BNSF train derailed Thursday, July 11, in downtown Woodward, briefly leading to an evacuation order until it was determined the contents of the train posed no public safety hazard. KOCO-TV reports BNSF said in a statement that the derailment occurred about 5:30 p.m. and the cars involved carried […]

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STB postpones start of new dispatching plan for Alameda Corridor

Map of relatively straight rail line leading to ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has postponed the start of a plan by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific to contract out dispatching of Southern California’s Alameda Corridor. In a decision announced Thursday, the board postponed the move — which was to be effective today (Friday, July 12) — “to provide sufficient time for evaluation […]

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CSX joins RailPulse telematics joint venture

Logo of RailPulse consortium

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – CSX has become the fourth Class I railroad to join RailPulse, the telematics joint venture that aims to put GPS equipment and sensors on freight cars to monitor their location and health in real time. The announcement, made today, leaves BNSF Railway and Canadian National as the only major systems sitting on […]

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Genesee & Wyoming’s expansion: General Electric locomotives suit up

bright orange locomotive on tracks

General Electric locomotives One year after Genesee & Wyoming’s June 2023 announcement it was buying second-hand General Electric power from Wabtec to bolster its fleet, the rollout of these locomotives on many of its properties is well underway. The comfort cab-equipped locomotives are part of a vast rearrangement of power on many Genesee & Wyoming […]

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