NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says it is “assessing its options” regarding Twitter use after the social media site announced it would reverse a policy charging public agencies for automated warning such as transit status updates. The MTA said last week that it had stopped using Twitter for status updates because “the reliability […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Siemens presentation offers opportunity to compare hydrogen, battery-powered trains
WILDENRATH, Germany — A recent presentation by Siemens offered the opportunity to compare the company’s new hydrogen and battery trains for Europe, and provided a look at a new road-transport-based mobile hydrogen filling station. The equipment was presented at the Siemens-owned test center in northwestern Germany. The Wildenrath facility, with two test loops, is built […]
Rail regulation bill advances in Pennsylvania legislature
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A bill seeking to introduce a broad range of rail regulations in the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment easily advanced out of a Pennsylvania House committee on Wednesday, despite concerns voiced by some members that the matter is one for federal, not state, action. PennLive.com reports that House Bill 1028 […]
B&O tower at Deshler, Ohio
Baltimore & Ohio’s DR Tower, pictured before daybreak in 1952, guards the crossing of the road’s Chicago and Toledo divisions at the small town of Deshler in northwest Ohio. Wallace W. Abbey photo […]
Chicago-St. Louis trains begin 110-mph running
CHICAGO — Starting today, Amtrak’s Lincoln Service trains will begin operating at 110-mph maximum speeds over Union Pacific’s former Gulf, Mobile & Ohio speedway between Laraway Road, south of Joliet, Ill., and the Alton, Ill., Amtrak station. Shortened schedules will be established at a later time “to ensure everything on the system is running properly […]
California passes regulations calling for zero-emission locomotives
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California has passed regulations requiring dramatic measures to reduce diesel locomotive emissions within the state — including all new locomotives to offer zero-emission operation by 2035 — although the rail industry says the rules exceed the technology needed to meet them. In a move last week, the California Air Resources Board passed […]
Metra gears up summer construction work
CHICAGO — Improvement projects at 28 stations highlight Metra’s construction plans. The Chicago-area commuter operator began its construction season in April and will continue projects through the fall, weather permitting. Nearly a quarter of Metra’s $119.5 million in capital spending for 2023 is focused on rebuilding or refurbishing station facilities, part of a five-year plan […]
Authorities clean up after hazardous-materials leak from tank car in Ohio
MARION, Ohio — Local, state, federal, and railroad officials were continuing clean-up and investigation this evening (Tuesday, May 2) after a freight car on a CSX Transportation train was discovered to be leaking a hazardous material earlier today. The Marion Star reports a leak of phosphoric acid was reported at 3:21 a.m. The leak from […]
CN, UP, and Ferromex tighten new Canada-Mexico intermodal schedules (updated)
MONTREAL — Canadian National, Union Pacific, and Ferromex have significantly tightened the schedules for the new intermodal service they will launch on May 15 to link Canada and Detroit with Mexico. The changes to the Falcon Premium service, announced in customer advisories on Monday, take 40 hours out of the Detroit-Monterrey transit time and trim […]
STB requires BNSF, NS, and UP to continue to provide detailed service progress reports
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators will require BNSF Railway, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific to continue to provide biweekly service progress reports through the end of the year. The Surface Transportation Board, in a decision released today, said the three systems had not yet made enough progress toward the operations, service, and employment goals they had […]
Amtrak hopes to resolve Pennsylvania freight customer complaint about track project
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has told federal regulators that it wants to find a way to resolve a complaint from freight customers who will lose access to Norfolk Southern service for several weeks during trackwork on the Philadelphia-Harrisburg main line. Amtrak plans to shut one track to all traffic starting this month, which would prevent NS […]
Norfolk Southern seeks regulatory approval for purchase of CNO&TP
WASHINGTON — Norfolk Southern yesterday sought regulatory approval for its acquisition of the Cincinnati Southern Railway, the municipally owned railroad that forms the 338.2-mile Chattanooga-Cincinnati backbone of NS’s key corridor linking Chicago with Atlanta and the Southeast. NS asked the Surface Transportation Board to approve the $1.62 billion acquisition as a minor transaction. Norfolk Southern […]