BALASORE, India — A signal error caused a collision that has killed at least 275 people and injured more than 1,000, according to India’s railway minister. The Guardian reports that Ashwini Vaishnaw said the full investigation into the Friday crash was continuing but “the root cause has been identified.” Preliminary findings indicate the train, the […]
REDBANK, Queensland — Australia’s largest freight rail company, Aurizon, has contracted with Progress Rail to build what the companies are calling the first zero-emission-capable freight locomotive to be constructed in Australia, a battery-electric unit. Progress Rail will retrofit one of Aurizon’s existing 4000-class diesel locomotives, Clyde Engineering units built by Walkers, at the Progress Rail […]
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 […]
CALGARY, Alberta — CPKC’s first new service — a pair of intermodal trains linking Chicago and Mexico — will launch on May 11, carrying containers from new customers Schneider and Knight-Swift. Daily hotshots 180 and 181 will link Chicago with Laredo, Texas; Monterrey, Mexico; and Mexico City. With third-day service to Laredo, fourth-day to Monterrey, […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National, Union Pacific, and Ferromex will launch new intermodal service next month linking Canada and Detroit with Mexico, the railroads announced today (Monday, April 24). The Falcon Premium service will connect a dozen CN terminals with the Ferromex terminals in Monterrey and Silao via the Eagle Pass, Texas, gateway. CN and UP […]
The German government has launched a new nationwide travel pass good for use on almost all trains, as well subways, light rail lines, and almost all buses. The new ticket, effective May 1, is called the “Deutschland Ticket, and costs costs 49 euros ($54) a month. It is seen as a permanent successor to the […]
SHILDON, England — British rail enthusiasts have formed several groups to build new steam locomotives as part of the United Kingdom’s thriving heritage rail industry. The trend began with the building of the A1 Tornado, which in 2008 became the first main line steam locomotive built since the end of the steam era. Such a […]
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentina’s railways continue to use diesel locomotives supplied new by American builders EMD, GE, and Alco in the late 1950s, with Buenos Aires possibly the only place on the planet where those diesels are working side by side, hauling and switching freight in 2023. More modern Chinese-built locomotives, as well as […]
Meet Mark Bottrill In a paragraph, how did you get started in the hobby? Despite being a lifelong railfan, I had no knowledge of large scale or US garden trains prior to 2003. This changed when I saw a screensaver on the computer monitor of a USAF Major I met while serving in the military […]
Thai State Railways (State Railway of Thailand or SRT) still has at least three diesel locomotives built 71 years ago by long-defunct American manufacturer Davenport Locomotive Works in regular service. One, at Nakhon Lampang in the north of the country, is used regularly to switch cars into Chiang Mai-Bangkok services with passengers onboard. The units […]
MONTREUX, Switzerland — Concerns over excessive track wear have led the innovative Swiss Golden Pass Express trains that switch from meter gauge to standard gauge to be temporarily restricted to meter-gauge operations. The Golden Pass Express, or GPX, trains, began operating late last year on the route between Montreux and Interlaken [see “Swiss gauge-changing Panoramic […]
KANSAS CITY — Kansas City Southern de Mexico is battling congestion in key terminals thanks to a combination of stronger than expected traffic growth and a shortage of train crews. The congestion, which began in December, now threatens to gum up Kansas City Southern’s U.S. network less than four weeks before Canadian Pacific gains control […]
