EXETER, Neb. — One crew member was transported to a hospital with minor injuries after a BNSF intermodal train struck a semi-truck and derailed today (Friday, March 1) near Exeter, Neb., KOLN-TV reports. Fifteen to 20 railcars derailed, according to the Fillmore County Sheriff’s Office. The collision occurred about 10 a.m. , just west of […]
Magazine: Trains Magazine
CN, United Steelworkers announce tentative three-year agreement
MONTREAL — Canadian National and United Steelworkers Local 2004, which represents CN track and bridge employees in Canada, have reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract, the railroad announced today (Friday, March 1) The union represents more than 2,500 workers, primarily responsible for track maintenance. Negotiations had been underway since October 2023; the […]
GIO Railway ends service to St. Catharines, Ontario
ST. CATHARINES, Ontario — The GIO Railway ended service to downtown St. Catherines today (Friday, March 1), effectively removing the north end of GIO’s Niagara network from service and halting nearly 150 years of rail service to the city’s downtown. GIO’s final train operated over two days because of mechanical issues, beginning its trip on […]
Trains LIVE — The Mad City Model Railroad Show
Trains LIVE — The Mad City Model Railroad Show — 3-1-2024 — Operating model railroads, railroad historical societies, museums, garden railroads, restored motor cars — if it has something to do with trains — of any size — you can find it at the Mad City Model Railroad Show. For the 56th time the South […]
UP and BNSF shop worker layoffs prompt scrutiny from FRA and union leaders
WASHINGTON — The head of the Federal Railroad Administration has questioned Union Pacific’s commitment to safety after the furloughs of shop workers who maintain the railroad’s freight cars and locomotives. Meanwhile, the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO has asked the FRA to conduct random focused inspections at BNSF Railway in the wake of the […]
Train signals and interlockings unraveled
Train signals All dark, two silent sentinels guard their respective tracks on the double-track main line. Just beyond them is a crossover enabling trains to switch from one track to another. Beyond the crossover, a similar set of signals faces the opposite way. Suddenly, the dark signals light up, each displaying three columns of red […]
West Coast winter weather affects California Zephyr, Empire Builder
CHICAGO — Amtrak’s California Zephyr has been cancelled west of Salt Lake City through the weekend as weather forecasters are predicting heavy snow will pound Donner Pass and the Sierra Nevada mountains through Saturday. Service on the Seattle segment of the Empire Builder route was also disrupted this week. Trouble started early Thursday when the […]
Amtrak awards contract for Philadelphia maintenance facility
PHILADELPHIA — Amtrak has awarded a contract to Herzog Contracting Corp. for design and construction of a new Heavy Maintenance Facility at the passenger operator’s Penn Coach Yard in Philadelphia, the first of six major projects planned for maintenance facilities around the country. The projects at five locations in the Northeast and one in the […]
Activist investor questions NS decision to give CEO Alan Shaw a 37% raise (updated)
CLEVELAND – Activist investor Ancora Holdings has asked the Norfolk Southern board to explain why it gave CEO Alan Shaw a 37% raise last year despite presiding over the industry’s worst financial results, poor stock performance, and the railroad’s “ineffective and tone-deaf response” to the hazardous materials derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. “It is astonishing […]
Shipper groups sound alarm over Norfolk Southern proxy fight
Associations representing railroad shippers say they’re concerned about Ancora Holdings’ proxy battle at Norfolk Southern, fearing that the activist investors will put an emphasis on boosting short-term profits at the expense of service. “Seems as if NS is making strides on improving service which, to a certain degree, means abandoning some of the Precision Scheduled […]
Commuter rail workers tell MBTA they are prepared to strike
BOSTON — Union workers operating the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s commuter rail operator for its contract operator, Keolis, are prepared to strike over wages and other conditions, the president of one union told the MBTA’s board on Thursday. “We don’t want to strike, but we will when we are legally able to,” Transportation Workers Union […]
Video: Wabtec provides look at locomotive painting process
ERIE, Pa. — If you’ve wondered what it looks like to paint a locomotive, Wabtec has released a short video condensing the 7-to-10-day process — requiring two-person crews working two shifts — to just over a minute and a half. The locomotive being painted in this video, incidentally, is not your run-of-the-mill diesel with your […]