WASHINGTON — The leadership of the U.S. Senate committee responsible for transit policy has asked the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for detailed information on the wheelset defect that has sidelined the majority of the DC Metrorail car fleet. The Washington Post reports Sens. Sharrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.), the chairman and […]
Zone & Region: Northeast
Federal regulators schedule public hearing on CSX acquisition of Pan Am Railways
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board will hold a virtual public hearing next month on CSX Transportation’s proposed acquisition of New England regional Pan Am Railways. The hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 13 and will continue on Jan. 14 if necessary, the board said today. The hearing is part of the board’s […]
NTSB to investigate SEPTA-CSX collision
DARBY, Pa. — The National Transportation Safety Board said it will send a team of four investigators to the site of Thursday’s accident between a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority trolley and CSX freight train at a diamond in Darby, Pa. Updated information from a SEPTA spokesman, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer, reports the trolley’s […]
News Photos: Amtrak heritage electric debuts (updated)
Shades of the AEM7: Amtrak’s newest heritage locomotive, ACS64 No. 662, made its debut on Thursday, handling Northeast Regional train No. 176 from Washington to Boston. The first trip came shortly after Amtrak released photos on Twitter of the Siemens locomotive wrapped in a recreation of the paint scheme worn by the earlier electric locomotives […]
Seven injured as SEPTA trolley, CSX train collide
DARBY, Pa. — Seven people have been injured, one critically, after a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority trolley collided with a CSX freight train on Thursday morning, KYW-TV reports. The Philadelphia Inquirer, which earlier had reported six injuries — to the operator and five passengers — reports an eastbound trolley on Route 11, from Darby to […]
East Broad Top gets $1.1 million from state for restoring track, other projects
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – East Broad Top Railroad has been awarded a $1.1 million state grant to rebuild 7.8 miles of track between the company’s headquarters in Rockhill Furnace and the towns of Three Springs and Saltillo, and to support related EBT projects. The grant awarded Wednesday, Dec. 8, is the first step toward reopening […]
MBTA staffing shortages lead to trolley, bus service cuts
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will cut service on its Mattapan trolley line, as well more than 30 bus routes, because of an operator shortage. Boston.com reports the agency announced Tuesday that the cuts will be effective Dec. 19. Employee attrition has outstripped the ability to find new employees, officials say, leading to […]
Metrorail supervisor was watching streaming video at time of wrong-way incident, report says
WASHINGTON — A supervisor apparently was watching streaming video on his computer when a DC Metrorail train operator took his train the wrong way out of a station, delaying the response to the operating error, according to a report from the independent agency responsible for the Metrorail system. The same report, delivered at Tuesday’s meeting […]
New Jersey short line to take over local service on NJ Transit branches
WASHINGTON — Cape May Seashore Lines will replace Conrail as the local freight service provider on 31.68 miles of New Jersey Transit trackage in southern New Jersey on or after Dec. 31, according to a regulatory filing. CMSL will gain trackage rights over NJ Transit’s Cape May Branch between milepost 27.02 at Winslow Junction, N.J., […]
Worker warning system at fault in fatal SEPTA accident, NTSB says
WASHINGTON — The use of the Train Approach Warning method to warn track workers of approaching traffic — in a multiple-track location where trains could approach at full speed in either direction — led to a fatal 2019 accident involving Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority workers, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report issued […]
Hudson Tunnel project gets federal permit
The much-discussed project to build new Northeast Corridor tunnels between New York and New Jersey has received the permit allowing construction to begin once funding is secured. NJ.com reports the permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would allow construction of the Hudson River Tunnel to begin in summer 2023. Once the two new […]
DC Metrorail issues lead to NTSB safety alert
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a safety alert, asking commuter rail and rail transit systems to check wheelsets for possible out-of-gage situations. Safety Alert 083, issued Wednesday, results from an October derailment on the DC Metrorail system, which revealed problems in which some wheels moved outward from their mounted position on […]