BART introduces new track geometry car

Track geometry car in rapid-transit station

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 […]

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Clearing a Rio Grande rotary

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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 […]

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Kansas governor calls for regulation requiring two-person crews

Freight train with five locomotives from three railroads on bridge

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 […]

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CN derailment in Ontario leads to small chemical leak

Work crews around derailed tank cars and damaged track

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 […]

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Mexico invites CPKC to participate in rail projects

CPKC logo

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 […]

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BNSF resumes freight service on Surf Line

BNSF Railway logo

 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, […]

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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 […]

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