The agreement Canadian Pacific Kansas City and CSX Transportation reached last month to create a new corridor linking the Southeast with Texas and Mexico via Meridian, Miss., is not a new idea: More than two decades ago Kansas City Southern CEO Mike Haverty sought to tie his cross-border railroad to CSX by having the companies […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Building a train schedule
Did you ever wonder how a railroad goes about building a train schedule? It’s more complex than you may think. Train schedules have intrigued me since my father returned from a 1966 business trip with a present of current public timetables from 13 railroads. To 11-year-old me the timetables were like windows to a new […]
Flooding halts Amtrak, Metro-North, CSX operations in Hudson Valley
CROTON-HARMON, N.Y. — Flooding in New York’s Hudson River Valley has disrupted Amtrak, Metro-North, and CSX Transportation operations today (Monday, July 10). An alert on the Amtrak website says service between New York and Albany is suspended for at least the remainder of today as the Metro-North Railroad repairs tracks damaged by flooding. The New […]
Finger Lakes Railway launches excursions for 2023
CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — Central New York’s Finger Lakes Railway resumed its public excursion program on July 8, offering trips between Canandaigua and Clifton Springs, N.Y., using Budd RDC-1 AEAX 2012. Two round trips operated from Canandaigua, offering a 2½ layover in Clifton Springs; one round trip was also offered from Clifton Springs with a short […]
Kansas City streetcar shutdown to continue for up to three weeks
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City’s streetcar line will be shut down at least another two to three weeks after service was halted because of a track issue last week. KC Streetcar offered that timeline on Sunday as it continues to repair tracks on the Main Street Bridge over Interstate 670, reporting on Twitter that […]
Honolulu rail system well used during free trial, but numbers drop when fares begin
HONOLULU — Honolulu’s new rail transit system was heavily used during its introductory period of free ridership, but numbers dropped significantly when paid rides began, Hawaii News Now reports. Some 71,722 passengers rode the Skyline automated light rail system from its debut on June 30 through July 4, including 18,108 on Independence Day, according to […]
Union Pacific, conductors announce agreement on sick time (updated)
OMAHA Neb. — Union Pacific has reached a tentative agreement on paid sick leave with the union representing conductors over paid sick leave, the railroad announced today (Sunday, June 9). The agreement, which will cover about 5,900 employees, means UP now has tentative or ratified sick-time agreements with all 13 of its labor unions. The […]
Montreal light rail system to debut July 31
MONTREAL — The first segment of Montreal’s Réseau express metropolitan light rail system will open on July 31, construction contractor CDPQ Infra announced Friday. The initial five-station, 16.6-kilometer (10.3-mile) segment will operate between the South Shore community of Brossard and Central Station (Gare Centrale), with a trip taking less than 18 minutes. The much-delayed service […]
Three rail employees arrested in India rail disaster
NEW DELHI — Three employees of Indian Railways have been arrested over the three-train collision in June that killed almost 300 people, Agence France-Presse reports. The country’s Central Bureau of Investigation said the men — two signal engineers and one technician — have charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and destruction of evidence. […]
NTSB to investigate derailment of NS coal train in Virginia
ELLISTON, Va. — The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the derailment of a Norfolk Southern coal train Thursday night near Elliston, the Associated Press reports. The NTSB confirmed its investigation plans in a Twitter post this evening (July 7). Nineteen cars derailed but stayed upright in the incident, which came after the train crew […]
Montana Rail Link main line still closed, with no estimate for reopening
REED POINT, Mont. — The Montana Rail Line main line remains closed at the site of the June 24 bridge collapse and derailment that sent 10 freight cars into the Yellowstone River, but work is continuing “around the clock” to restore normal operations as soon as possible, according to the latest update from the Unified […]
FRA issues safety bulletin on shove movements after conductor trainee death
WASHINGTON – The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a safety bulletin after a CSX Transportation conductor trainee was killed during a shove movement in Baltimore. The FRA is investigating the June 26 accident at the Seagirt Marine Terminal at the Port of Baltimore [see “NTSB investigating CSX employee death …,” Trains News Wire, June 27, […]