KAMLOOPS, British Columbia — Rocky Mountaineer tour train service resumed its normal schedule in Canada as of Sunday, Aug. 27, following several days of disruptions, the company reports. Some departures had been cancelled as a result of wildfires in British Columbia, as well as an emergency order by British Columbia government that restricted non-essential travel […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Port of Coos Bay seeks Mega Grant for intermodal port plan
COOS BAY, Ore. — The Port of Coos Bay, Ore., is once again making a bid for a U.S. Department of Transportation Mega Grant, after its bid for an intermodal project was not selected a year ago. The project seeks to create a new intermodal gateway capable of handling 1.2 million containers per year. Oregon […]
Transportation Safety Board concerned about fire risk from distributed power units
RICHMOND, British Columbia — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has expressed concerns about fire risks posted by distributed-power locomotives as part of its final report on a July 2021 incident involving a Canadian Pacific freight train at Elko, B.C. In a press release accompanying Thursday’s release of the final investigation report, the TSB says […]
Rail data firm shows impact of British Columbia fires on CN, CPKC operations
Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City operations have returned to normal in wildfire-ravaged British Columbia, where a fire halted rail traffic for a day last week, according to RailState, a company that tracks freight rail movements across Canada. The Kookipi Creek Fire shut down the railroads’ directional running zone in the Fraser River Canyon […]
Brightline, FEC set several days of work on St. Lucie River drawbridge
STUART, Fla. — Brightline and Florida East Coast Railway will perform additional rehabilitation work on the St. Lucie River drawbridge beginning tonight (Friday, Aug. 25), with extended overnight closures Aug. 27-28 and Aug 28-29, in order to complete the work before the start of Brightline service to Orlando, the two rail companies have announced. To […]
Union Pacific furloughs some shop and intermodal terminal workers as volume declines
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific furloughed 94 mechanical employees at shops across the system this week due to soft traffic volumes and a higher number of locomotives placed in storage. “As a routine part of business, we constantly examine our resources against volume needs. While some targeted furloughs are occurring in a handful of mechanical […]
MBTA plans 16-day shutdown of some Red Line service
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will shut down a 5-mile, 11-station segment of Red Line rail service for 16 days in October to address track maintenance, the agency announced today. The shutdown from Oct. 14 to Oct. 29 will affect the Ashmont Branch between the JFK/UMass and Ashmont stations, as well as the […]
Amtrak long-distance equipment shortage, mechanical challenges continue
CHICAGO — “Unforeseen mechanical issues” resulted in the cancellation of Amtrak’s westbound Cardinal out of New York on Wednesday, Aug. 23, despite the fact that the triweekly train’s equipment had arrived at the Big Apple’s Sunnyside Yard late Sunday. As has been recent custom, this resulted in the cancellation of its eastbound counterpart from Chicago […]
Union charges CN has used company-issued tablets to track off-duty employees
OTTAWA, Ontario — A union representing more than 5,000 Canadian National Railway employees in Canada has charged the railroad has been tracking the off-hours location of employees through company-issued computer tablets. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, in a message to members earlier this month on its website, said it had “become aware CN is utilizating […]
Design consultants selected for bridge-replacement portion of CREATE’s 75th Street project
CHICAGO — Norfolk Southern has selected four teams of structural design consultants for the Belt Junction and 80th Street Junction Replacements, part of the CREATE program’s massive 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project on Chicogo’s South Side. The project, EW2 in the CREATE list of 70 projects to improve rail traffic flow in the Chicago area, […]
Service on Metro-North’s New Canaan Branch to return Sept. 2
NEW CANAAN, Conn. — Metro-North’s New Canaan Branch, which has been idled since May 30 for track work, will resume operation on Saturday, Sept. 2, the Connecticut Department of Transportation has announced. Work on the electrified 8-mile, single-track branch — which normally sees 41 trains each weekday — has included tie and rail replacement, insulated […]
SMART-TD calls for FRA standards for those training new conductors
WASHINGTON — The union representing railroad conductors is calling for the Federal Railroad Administration to set standards for those involved in training of conductor trainees, while also issuing an advisory to its members regarding their duties and responsibilities regarding such training and trainees. The actions from the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and […]