PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — Amtrak has resumed selling tickets for the much-interrupted Adirondack to Montreal and plans to resume service on Sept. 11, WAER radio reports, but the station quotes an Amtrak spokesman as saying the company still needs to “work out several operational details to make that date happen.” Operations north of Albany were […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
‘Software defect’ caused system outage, Norfolk Southern says
ATLANTA — A “software defect” led to the computer system outage that disrupted Norfolk Southern operations on Monday, the railroad said in a follow-up report. In a statement today, the railroad said during routine maintenance by its data storage vendor, “a leading global technology provider,” this software defect created an error that affected both the […]
CSX: Norfolk Southern lawsuit over Pan Am matters is now moot
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – CSX Transportation says Berkshire & Eastern’s operation of Pan Am Southern, which began today, should moot the concerns that Norfolk Southern raised last month in a lawsuit alleging that CSX was hampering its access to New England. NS asked a Delaware court for an expedited preliminary injunction that would bar CSX and […]
Massachusetts legislator seeks to revive commuter rail service to Cape Cod
HYANNIS, Mass. — A Massachusetts legislator has announced plans for a bill that would revive daily commuter train service to Cape Cod, currently served by the summer-weekend-only CapeFlyer service. The Cape Cod Times reports state Rep. Dylan Fernandes said this week that the service would ease congestion on the Cape’s major roadways and bridges across […]
News Photo: A quiet finale for Pan Am Southern
Pan Am Southern quietly wrapped up operations on Thursday. Shown is one of the final trains, EDBF, making a late-afternoon departure from the former Boston & Maine yard at East Deerfield, Mass., for to Bellows Falls, Vt. Effective today (Sept. 1, 2023), Pan Am Southern lines in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York […]
NJ Transit engineers vote to strike (updated)
NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit engineers have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has announced. The union said in a Thursday press release that 81% of those eligible to vote returned their ballots, and 100% of those ballots supported a strike authorization. The exact breakdown: 494 members […]
NTSB releases preliminary report on track worker death in Great Barrington, Mass.
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The worker who died in an Aug. 4 accident on state-owned tracks in Great Barrington was operating a leaf blower on those tracks when he was struck by a maintenance-of-way machine, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its preliminary accident report issued on Thursday. The accident victim was identified in […]
Caltrain energizes second major power substation for electrification project
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Caltrain has energized the second traction power substation for the electrification of its San Francisco-San Jose main line, another step toward the planned launch of electrified operation in fall 2024. The agency announced the substation, built by Balfour Beatty and its partners had been powered up by Pacific Gas & […]
Connecticut’s Shore Line East set for schedule changes to accommodate Amtrak track project
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Amtrak is temporarily increasing the number of its trains that will cross-honor tickets for Connecticut’s Shore Line East commuter service because of Shore Line East schedule changes to accommodate an Amtrak maintenance-of-way project. Shore Line East service will be reduced during that project. The schedule changes and cross-honoring are effective Sept. […]
News photo: Search for robbery suspects halts Metra, UP traffic in Chicago suburbs
LOMBARD, Ill. — Union Pacific trains, as well as those on Metra’s UP West Line, were halted from passing Villa Park, Ill., this evening (Aug. 30) after suspects from a robbery a few miles away in Benseville crashed a vehicle and fled the scene near UP’s tracks on the east side of the town of […]
Short line derailment in South Dakota leaves railcars dangling above roadway
NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. — A D&I Railroad train derailed on BNSF Railway trackage in North Sioux City today (Aug. 30), damaging a bridge and leaving derailed cars suspended over a roadway. KCAU-TV reports the derailment occurred about 4 p.m., and that BNSF confirmed the train involved belonged to D&I, the subsidiary of concrete, paving, […]
Start of Brightline service to Orlando is again pushed back
ORLANDO, Fla. — The start of Brightline service to Orlando has been further pushed back, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The passenger operator has yet to announce an official first date of service but has been selling tickets for dates in September. It is now offering refunds, upgrades to premium seats, and discounts on Avis rental […]