Bay Area Rapid Transit has unveiled a new track geometry car, which it is calling its Rail Inspection Vehicle or RIV, which can develop a track profile while operating at speeds up to 70 mph. In a press release, the transit system said the RIV can measure track position, curvature, smoothness, alignment, as well as […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Clearing a Rio Grande rotary
During an epic battle to reopen Cumbres Pass after a late December 1951 storm, a worker uses a shovel to clear the discharge chute of Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow gauge rotary OM of heavy, wet snow. John Norwood photo […]
No injuries reported as Amtrak train strikes track equipment on Northeast Corridor
KINGSTON, R.I. — No injuries were reported after an Amtrak Northeast Regional train struck track equipment near Kingston on Friday night, according to news reports. WJAR-TV reports Washington-Boston train No. 178, carrying about 200 passengers, struck the equipment about 11:20 p.m. The station’s website has a photograph of an Amfleet coach immediately behind ACS64 locomotive […]
Pacific Harbor Line displays battery locomotive at ceremony for engineers
SD40JR Joule locomotive WILMINGTON, Calif. — Pacific Harbor Line showed off its new battery-electric locomotive as part of a May 4 event welcoming the railroad’s latest graduating class of locomotive engineers. The Progress Rail/EMD SD40JR Joule locomotive had arrived the week before to start a year-long evaluation on the railroad serving the ports of Long […]
Kansas governor calls for regulation requiring two-person crews
TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly is seeking a regulation which would require two-person crews for trains operating within the state, calling it a “commonsense, necessary measure” for the safety of communities and crew members. Kelly, a Democrat, said in a press release that she has directed the state’s Department of Transportation to propose […]
MBTA to replace commuter rail with buses on three lines from South Station starting Monday evening
BOSTON — Commuter rail service will be replaced on weeknights and on two weekends from Monday, May 8, through Thursday, June 1, on a segment of three Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority lines, the MBTA and contract operator Keolis Commuter Services have announced. Shuttle buses will operate between South Station and Braintree on the Kingston, Middleborough, […]
CN derailment in Ontario leads to small chemical leak
KINGSTON, Ontario — Six cars of a Canadian National train carrying hazardous materials derailed Friday in Kingston, Ontario, leading to a small chemical leak and collapsing a portion of a bridge, the CBC reports. No members of the train’s three-person crew were injured. Two tanks cars of the 12-car train ended up in Little Cataraqui […]
Kellogg’s asks to be part of shipper dispute over Amtrak trackwork plan in Pennsylvania
WASHINGTON – Tony the Tiger along with Snap, Crackle, and Pop are asking for a seat at the table so that they can have a say in the dispute over Amtrak’s plans to halt freight service to local customers in Pennsylvania for six weeks during a trackwork project. Kellogg Co. says that losing freight service […]
Mexico invites CPKC to participate in rail projects
MEXICO CITY – Mexico is seeking to incorporate Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) into three projects, Business News Americas reported. After a meeting between Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, U.S. officials, and CPKC executives in Mexico City, the government said it invited CPKC to participate in the 932-mile Maya train that will connect five states […]
BNSF resumes freight service on Surf Line
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. – BNSF Railway has resumed freight service on the ex-Santa Fe “Surf Line” between Los Angeles and San Diego past the site of a landslide in San Clemente, the Los Angeles Times reported. BNSF began running two to four trains a day through the area at speeds of 10 to 15 mph, […]
CPKC, Teck Resources pilot program to use hydrogen locomotives in coal train service
CALGARY, Alberta — CPKC and metallurgical coal producer Teck Resources have reached a new multi-year contract that includes a first-of-its-kind pilot program that will use CPKC’s home-built hydrogen fuel-cell locomotives in coal train service. The pilot program, which will be jointly developed by CPKC and Teck, will begin next year, the companies announced today. “In […]
At CN, holding for tonnage is out; running to schedule is in
CHICAGO — Canadian National executives on Wednesday dissected the long-train strategy that the railway has cast aside in favor of an operating plan where sticking to schedule is gospel. “The plan is sacred” was a phrase CN officials used multiple times during the railway’s investor day presentations. “You have this phrase around here … ‘the […]