LANDRUM, S.C. — Norfolk Southern has agreed to sell 31 miles of right-of-way for its dormant Saluda Grade — formerly the steepest main line in America — to the Saluda Grade Trail Conservancy for conversion to a trail, the Spartanburg Post and Courier reports. Three non-profit groups — Conserving Carolina, Upstate Forever, and PAL: Play, […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Metro-North’s New Canaan Branch to see trains replaced by buses for summer track work
NEWINGTON, Conn. — Train service will be replaced with buses this summer on the New Canaan Branch of Metro-North’s New Haven Line for a major track project, the Connecticut Department of Transportation announced Wednesday. The bus substitution will begin May 30 and is expected to run through August. The work, part of an ongoing tie […]
Equipment shortage causes 4-hour delay for ‘Pennsylvanian’
HARRISBURG, Pa. – A locomotive shortage over the weekend caused Amtrak’s westbound Pennsylvanian from New York to run more than four hours late on its 444-mile trip to Pittsburgh. On Saturday (March 11), the seven-car train No. 43 left Manhattan’s Penn Station Moynihan Train Hall on time behind an ACS-64 electric locomotive as usual, changing […]
Amtrak launches Silver Star traditional dining ‘pilot’
WASHINGTON — Beginning with the northbound Silver Star of today (Wednesday, March 15), and the southbound train on Friday, March 17, Amtrak is returning full dining car meals to the Star’s Viewliner II diner. It will be the train’s first such food service since “traditional dining” was replaced by “flexible” meals in a bowl on […]
Conditions placed on CP-KCS merger designed to ensure competition, smooth operations
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators imposed a number of conditions on the merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, including a novel way of enforcing the railways’ promise to not tamper with current interchanges. Nearly all of the conditions were proposed by CP and KCS themselves as part of the Surface Transportation Board’s merger review […]
Amtrak, Southern Rail Commission welcome news of CP-KCS merger
WASHINGTON — The merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern may be a union of two freight railroads, but it is likely to matter for passenger railroading, as well. Amtrak had formally supported the railroads’ merger application before the Surface Transportation Board. That reflected CP’s backing for passenger operations between New Orleans and Baton […]
Metra, Chicago suburbs see few concerns addressed in merger decision
WASHINGTON — Commuter rail operator Metra and a group of Chicago suburbs received few of the conditions they had sought when the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger was approved on Wednesday. But that doesn’t mean their concerns couldn’t be addressed later, Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman said during a Wednesday press conference, thanks […]
Amtrak says Sunset Limited performance remains poor, again urges STB to act
WASHINGTON — Amtrak says on-time performance of the Sunset Limited remains poor, highlighting an urgent need for action by the Surface Transportation Board on its request for an investigation into the train’s operations. In a Monday filing, the passenger operator provides a status report on quarterly performance of the Sunset, the subject of its Dec. […]
BC government to fund further study of Vancouver Island rail line; some land to be returned to First Nations group
VICTORIA, British Columbia — The British Columbia government will spend C$18 million on planning for a possible resurrection of rail service on the former Esquimalt & Nanaimo line on Vancouver Island, beating by a day a court-ordered deadline to declare intentions for the long-dormant rail line but pushing an ultimate decision farther into the future. […]
Dog leash caught in doorway led to BART fatality, NTSB says in accident report
WASHINGTON — A passenger had a dog’s leash caught in the door of a Bay Area Rapid Transit train as it departed the station, dragging her along the station platform until she collided with a gate at the end of the platform, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s determination of probable cause in the […]
Auto racks derail at UP yard in Wyoming
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were involved when 12 cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Monday night at UP’s yard in Cheyenne, Cowboy State Daily reports. UP spokesman Make Jaixen told the news site that the cause of the derailment is under investigation. Cleanup was continuing on Tuesday. […]
Norfolk Southern reaches sick-time agreements with two more unions
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has reached agreements for paid sick time with members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and Brotherhood of Railway Carmen, bringing to eight the number of unions to reach sick-leave agreements with the railroad. The latest agreements cover more than 1,350 employees. As with earlier agreements, they provide […]