NTSB to investigate death of NYC Transit track worker

National Transportation Safety Board logo

NEW YORK — The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate a Wednesday accident in the New York Subway system that killed a track worker, the agency said in a social media post. Hiliarian Joseph, 57, was serving as the flagger at a track project near the 34th Street-Herald Square subway station when he was struck […]

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OmniTRAX to begin operation of South Branch Valley Railroad on Friday

Blue locomotive pulling freight cars

MOOREFIELD, W.Va. — OmniTRAX will take over management of West Virginia’s South Branch Valley Railroad this Friday, Dec. 1, the company has announced. The transportation affiliate of The Broe Group said Wednesday that it had entered into “a definitive agreement with the West Virginia Deparment of Transportation to operate and grow” the 52.4-mile railroad, a […]

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Weekly U.S. rail traffic again up

Weekly table showing U.S. carload rail traffic by commodity type, plus intermodal totals

WASHINGTON — Weekly U.S. rail traffic again was up for the week ending Nov. 25, the third straight week with a volume increase over the same week in 2022. According to statistics from the Association of American Railroads, total traffic was 415,332 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.4%. That included 195,948 carloads, down 2.5%, and […]

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Texas mayor vocal about need for passenger rail at House hearing: Analysis

Passenger train in background with station in foreground

WASHINGTON — Austin, Texas, Mayor Kirk Watson expressed strong support for expanded rail service in the San Antonio-Dallas-Houston “Texas Triangle” at a hearing of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s rail subcommittee in Washington today (Wednesday, Nov. 29). The session, however, primarily provided a platform for critics of the California High-Speed Rail Authority to […]

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Model trains in The White House this holiday season

For the first time in many years, model trains are in The White House this Christmas. In a press release from The White House, First Lady Jill Biden announces the 2023 holiday theme, “The Magic, Wonder, and Joy of the holidays.” “In this season of reflection and goodwill, we hope you will embrace your inner […]

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Miami’s Tri-Rail says it will begin downtown service by end of 2023

Light blue locomotive with images of clouds and palm trees on its side at grade crossing

MIAMI — South Florida commuter rail service Tri-Rail still expects to begin long-delayed service to Brightline’s downtown MiamiCentral downtown station by the end of the year, Miami Today reports. A spokesman for the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, Tri-Rail’s parent agency, told Miami Today that a draft schedule has been submitted to partners including Brightline […]

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Harrisburg NRHS Chapter opens PRR Power Director’s Office

Room with dispatching-center-type track diagrams

HARRISBURG, Pa. — After a long lease negotiation and a year of restoration and cleanup, the Harrisburg Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society has opened the former Pennsylvania Railroad 1937 Power Director’s Office for public visits by arrangement. Situated on the second floor of the 1887 PRR passenger station, the 60-by-60-foot room governed the […]

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Routes for Del Mar rail tunnel multiply

Map of potential rall tunnel routes in Del Mar, Calif.

DEL MAR, Calif. — Proposed routes for a tunnel to replace the rail line along the Del Mar bluffs, which at one time had been narrowed to two options, are now back to a total of 11 options in the wake of objections by Del Mar residents, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The multi-billion dollar project […]

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