MINNEAPOLIS — Seven people were injured — two in a vehicle, and five on the trains — in a collision between a car and two Metro Transit light-rail trains Monday night, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. The collision occurred shortly after 9 p.m. at the corner of South 5th Street and Portland Avenue South. Preliminary information […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
‘Adirondack’ tickets now on sale for service beginning April 3
NEW YORK — Following intense pressure from New York politicians, Amtrak has started selling tickets for travel on the New York-Montreal Adirondack, which will resume operation April 3 northbound and April 4 southbound. Ticket sales began Monday, March 20. It is the last route to be reinstated following widespread suspensions that took place in March […]
Positioning of dead-in-tow locomotives in Alabama derailment was against NS rules, NTSB says in preliminary report
WASHINGTON — Two locomotives being transported dead-in-tow were coupled together, contrary to Norfolk Southern operating rules, in the consist of the NS train that derailed March 9 near Anniston, Ala., according to a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report released Monday. With Norfolk Southern under close scrutiny in the wake of February’s derailment in East […]
Supreme Court asks federal government for opinion on blocked-crossing laws
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has asked the federal government to offer its view on an effort by states to regulate how long railroads can block grade crossings. The Kansas City Star reports that the invitation means the court might address Ohio’s appeal of a lower-court ruling that blocked the state’s blocked-crossing law. The […]
Canadian National, Unifor reach tentative contract agreements
MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway and two Unifor unions, Local 100 and Council 4000, have reached tentative agreements, the railroad and Unifor announced Monday, averting a possible strike. The agreements cover approximately 3,000 CN employees in mechanical, intermodal, facility management, and clerical positions across Canada, the railroad said. Local 100 represents the mechanical workers and […]
MBTA lifts last global speed restriction
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority lifted the last of the global speed restrictions on its rapid transit lines on Sunday night, ending the blanket 25-mph restriction on the Green Line. The agency said in a press release that the overall slow order had been replaced by targeted block speed restrictions, which cover about […]
Comments deadline nears for Brightline West plan to build over Cajon Pass
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — The California Department of Transportation is inviting public comment on the agency’s plan to allow Brightline West to build electrified high-speed tracks adjacent to Interstate 15 for 49 miles across Cajon Pass to Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. This would extend its route from Las Vegas, Nev., past a planned terminus at Apple […]
Canadian government to provide $23 million for expansion of transload facility
SURREY, British Columbia — The Canadian government will provide up to C$23 million in funding to expand an agricultural shipping terminal near the U.S. border, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced Friday. Money provided from the National Trade Corridors Fund will expand rail capacity at Global Agricultural Trans-Loading in Surrey, B.C., by helping to pay for […]
BNSF main line reopens in Arizona
TOPOCK, Ariz. — BNSF Railway has reopened its Southern Transcon main line near the Arizona-California state line following a Wednesday derailment, the railroad said in a customer advisory today (Saturday, March 18). That derailment occurred about 7:40 p.m. Wednesday near Topock, about 11 miles southeast of Needles, Calif., on the Seligman Subdivision. It involved eight […]
Cleanup of Glendale, Ky., derailment continues
GLENDALE, Ky. — All 21 cars involved in the CSX Transportation derailment Thursday in Glendale were carrying automobiles, the railroad has confirmed. Cleanup continued today (March 17) from an incident that saw the occupant of one trackside vehicle suffer what have been described as “minor” injuries. One trackside building was damaged, along with some parked […]
Rail safety bill introduced in U.S. House
WASHINGTON — Two U.S. representatives from Ohio — Bill Johnson (R) and Emilia Sykes (D) — today introduced the Reducing Accidents in Locomotives Act, or RAIL Act, the latest legislative response to the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment. The companion bill to the Rail Safety Act introduced earlier this month in the Senate [see “Senators propose […]
FRA issues safety bulletin on shoving moves across grade crossings
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a safety bulletin asking railroads to review with employees the dangers of pushing and shoving moves at highway grade crossings. The bulletin issued today (March 17) is clearly in response to the fatal accident involving a Norfolk Southern conductor on March 7 [see “Norfolk Southern employee killed […]