For years now riding VIA Rail’s Canadian has been more about the experience than arriving on time. A lot more, in fact. Even your boarding pass for VIA’s flagship warns that you shouldn’t book same-day connections at your destination. But things seem to be changing. As part of its effort to run its freights closer […]
Type of Train: Freight
News & Products for the week of February 13th 2023
News & Products for the week of February 13th 2023 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of February 13th 2023. […]
East Palestine plans town hall meeting on derailment
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The Village of East Palestine will hold an informational town hall meeting on Wednesday regarding followup to the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment, Mayor Trent Conaway has announced. The 7 p.m. meeting at the East Palestine High School Auditorium will be an opportunity for residents and those in the surrounded area […]
Columbia Rail to take over operations at Richland, Wash., port
RICHLAND, Wash. — The Port of Benton has hired Washington short line operator Columbia Rail to operate the 16-mile railroad at the industrial facilities on land that once hosted the Manhattan Project nuclear weapon program. The Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business reports that the port commission has approved a 24-month agreement under which Columbia Rail […]
CSX reaches agreement with two more unions to provide paid sick leave
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation announced today (Friday, Feb. 10) that it has reached agreement with two more unions to provide four days of paid sick leave. The agreements are with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers, which represent the company’s utility workers. They follow […]
Rail traffic resumes, cleanup continues in East Palestine
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Trains are running again through East Palestine, Ohio, although the village’s mayor isn’t too pleased with the way operations resumed. WKYC-TV reports Norfolk Southern began operations on its main Cleveland-Pittsburgh line through East Palestine Wednesday evening, to the displeasure of Mayor Trent Conaway, who said he had been told trains would […]
Norfolk Southern to pay fine for coal spill in 2020 derailment
SALEM, Va. — Norfolk Southern will pay a $27,300 fine for a coal spill into the Roanoke River resulting from a 2020 derailment, the Roanoke Times reports. The agreement between NS and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality stems from an Oct. 30, 2020, derailment of 26 hopper cars that sent 12 cars into the […]
Union group calls for FRA to require Class I participation in close-call reporting system
WASHINGTON — The Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, a coalition of 37 transportation-related unions including several related to railroading, is calling on the Federal Railroad Administration to require Class I railroads to participate in the Confidential Close Call Reporting System, a currently voluntary method of tracking and addressing near-accident situations. In a letter Thursday […]
TSB says 2019 GO Transit accident involving pedestrians raises questions about Ontario’s rail oversight
RICHMOND HILL, Ontario — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has raised questions about Ontario’s safety oversight of railways following release of its investigation report on a 2019 accident in which a GO Transit commuter train struck an adult and a child at a grade crossing in Kitchener, Ont. “This accident illustrates the critical and […]
CP, Steelworkers in Canada reach tentative agreement
CALGARY — Canadian Pacific announced Thursday it has reached a tentative contract agreement with United Steelworkers Local 1976, which represents approximately 550 administrative support and intermodal workers in Canada. Details will not be released until the contract is ratified, the railroad said. The Steelworkers said negotiations had been in progress since November. “This agreement makes […]
TSB investigating CP derailment in Mount MacDonald Tunnel
REVELSTOKE, British Columbia — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating a Canadian Pacific derailment inside the Mount MacDonald Tunnel on Rogers Pass that occurred Feb. 5, the Revelstoke Review newspaper reports. The newspaper reports that the TSB said that the train was westbound through the tunnel when 11 cars “began to lean,” leading […]
More lawsuits filed in wake of derailment
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Two additional class-action lawsuits have been filed in the wake of the derailment and fire of a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio. WKBN-TV reports that on Tuesday, Chase and Cheri Kinder, entities Bird Dog Hill Kennels and Stonybrook Kennel, and Pamela Taas field a lawsuit late Tuesday against NS in […]