PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Reading & Northern Railroad announced it set new records in 2022 for freight traffic and excursion passenger ridership. Revenue freight traffic rose over 4,000 carloads and the railroad carried over 250,000 passengers on its excursion trains. Reading & Northern, Pennsylvania’s largest privately-owned railroad, said the freight traffic increase was driven by […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Siemens working with Amtrak to resolve ALC42 locomotive issues
CHICAGO — The Amtrak locomotives that sustained mid-route failures on the Empire Builder in December, stranding the eastbound train in rural Minnesota, are undergoing software and hardware modifications intended to prevent the problems from recurring. Responding to a Trains News Wire inquiry asking Amtrak why the Builder didn’t operate west of the Twin Cities for […]
With PTC in place, railroads see new benefits, more possibilities
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Implementing positive train control was a long, costly process for the railroad industry. Now that it’s in place, the people who know it best — the communications and signal specialists — are finding there are a lot of benefits to the technology beyond its primary purpose of accident prevention. “As a […]
Rainy weather delays effort to fix rail line to San Diego
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — A series of storms that have brought significant rain to California have slowed efforts to repair an unstable slope along the Surf Line in Orange County, pushing back efforts to restore through rail passenger service between Los Angeles and San Diego while also raising the cost of the repair effort. The […]
Canadian government to require railroads to report more information on traffic, performance
OTTAWA — The Canadian government will require railroads to provide more detailed information on traffic and performance under amendments to Canada’s Transportation Information Regulations, Transport Canada announced on Monday, Jan. 9. The information, to be reported weekly, will be published on the government’s Transportation Data and Information Hub. The new rules take effect April 4, […]
Influx of grant funds may pose track-work challenges for Genesee & Wyoming
BOCA RATON, Fla. — The rail industry is, understandably, embracing the influx of new federal funding for infrastructure projects. But will there be a point where there are so many new projects being funded that the marketplace has trouble delivering the materials and services they need? Kristine Storm, Genesee & Wyoming’s vice president, procurement, certainly […]
Metra to introduce expanded SouthWest Service schedule
CHICAGO — Commuter rail operator Metra will introduce a major upgrade to its SouthWest Service schedule as of Jan. 16, increasing the number of weekday trains from 12 to 30 as part of a pilot program. “As we have done on other lines, we are adjusting the schedule on the SouthWest Service to meet increasing […]
MBTA looks at returning older Orange Line equipment to operation
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority may return some of its older Orange Line trainsets to operation to address an equipment shortage as it continues to inspect and repair new equipment for the latest in a series of defects, Boston.com reports. At least nine of the new Orange Line cars built in Massachusetts by […]
Reading & Northern to offer ‘rare mileage’ excursion (corrected)
PORT CLINTON, Pa. — The Railroad Historians of the Lehigh Valley and the Lehigh Valley Chapter, National Railway Historical Society are sponsoring a “rare mileage” excursion on the Reading & Northern Railroad on April 15. R&N Budd Rail Diesel Cars will cover several lines. A revised trip plan includes the P&R mainline, the Mine Hill […]
Subway crash in Mexico City kills one
MEXICO CITY — Two subway trains collided between two stations Jan. 7 in Mexico City, killing at least one person and injuring 41, the Associated Press reported. Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said the accident happened on Line 3 of the capital’s Metro system, without specifying the cause of the crash between the Potrero and […]
China building more than 1,800 miles of rail lines in 2023
BEIJING – China is planning to build more that 1,800 miles of new railway lines this year, including 1,500 miles of high-speed railroad, Chinese media reports.Construction includes a total of 102 railway projects planned in the Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) for National Economic and Social Development and Vision 2035 of China. China […]
CSX gets Pan Am work off the ground
BOCA RATON, Fla. — CSX Transportation put a lot of effort into upgrading newly acquired property Pan Am Railways in 2022. That effort will continue this year, Ed Sparks, the railroad’s chief engineer, bridges, design, and construction, said Saturday. The plans for the former Pan Am trackage in New England was just one part of […]