GATINEAU, Quebec — Effects of alcohol consumption by the rail traffic controller involved were likely a factor in a September 2021 collision between a Canadian National intermodal train and industrial switcher at Prescott, Ontario, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in an accident report issued today (Wednesday, March 13). As a result, the TSB […]
SACRAMENTO — The head of the California high speed rail project told state legislators Tuesday that the project looks to be $4 billion to $7 billion short of funds needed to complete the initial Central Valley segment, and may need as much as $100 billion more to build the full Los Angeles-San Francisco route. KCRA-TV […]
ST. LOUIS — Siemens Mobility will build 55 new battery hybrid S200 high-floor light rail vehicles for the Metro Transit system, replacing the oldest vehicles in the MetroLink light rail system, the company has announced. Bi-State Development, operator of Metro Transit, selected Siemens, which previously built the system’s SD400 and SD460 LRVs in orders beginning […]
WATERLOO, Iowa — The city of Waterloo has received a $750,000 grant to begin preparations for possible relocation Canadian National Railway’s yard from downtown Waterloo to outside of town, along with other rail projects to improve safety, traffic flow, and pedestrian access. The project will be funded from the Department of Transportation’s Neighborhood Access and […]
Ancora Holdings, the activist investor leading a proxy fight against Norfolk Southern, says it’s taking the high road and conducting a fact-based campaign to oust the railroad’s management. The reality is that Ancora is stuck on the misinformation highway with a safety white paper that makes several claims that can’t hold up to scrutiny. Ancora’s […]
COCOA, Fla. — Brightline and local officials announced their intention Tuesday to build a station on over 40 acres of Brightline-owned land near the junction where its trains from Orlando International Airport join Florida East Coast Railway’s north-south main line. The planned Cocoa, Fla., station is 40 miles east of the company’s Orlando terminus, and […]
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Minnesota bill to limit the length of freight trains has cleared its first legislative hurdle, passing a committee of the state’s House of Representatives on Tuesday. HF3499, introduced by Rep. Jeff Brand (Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, St. Peter, Minn.), would limit trains to 8,500 feet, with penalties escalating from as little as […]
WASHINGTON — A CSX maintenance-of-way foreman was killed when he was struck by a ballast regulator while waiting for flaggers to arrive to protect a grade crossing, the National Transportation Safety Board said in the preliminary report issued Tuesday on an accident that occurred Feb. 13 in Roanoke Rapids, N.C. The accident description confirms details […]
I got a late afternoon call to be the rear brakeman on train No. 1/146/05 (South Pool, Seattle to Portland, Ore.) on Aug. 5, 1979. We were at our away from home terminal of Portland. My crew that day was conductor Duke D., engineer Les M., and head brakeman Pete T. I was working the […]
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has vetoed the bill that would have required two-person crews for freight trains within the state, the news website Virginia Mercury reports. Youngkin said in a veto message issued March 8 that he took the action because the actions in the bill “appear premature and lack the necessary […]
VIDALIA, Ga. – Railroad labor union leaders today urged the Federal Railroad Administration to reject or at least severely restrict a proposal that would allow a pair of Genesee & Wyoming short lines to conduct intensive tests of Parallel Systems autonomous, self-propelled battery-electric freight cars. The Heart of Georgia and Georgia Central railroads last year […]
CHICAGO — Upgrading speeds and capacity or simply keeping tracks well-maintained for passenger trains has tradeoffs that often compromise a rail corridor’s ability to provide meaningful mobility while the work is going on. An example will occur in Michigan beginning May 6, when Amtrak and the state of Michigan jointly made the decision to suspend […]
