RICHMOND, Va., and ATLANTA — The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority and Norfolk Southern have completed financing on the agreement which will expand passenger service to Roanoke, Va., and extend service southwest into the New River Valley. The Western Rail Initiative Agreement sets the stage for the launch of a second daily Amtrak round trip between […]
WASHINGTON — The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association has recognized a record number of railroads with its annual Jake Safety Awards, announced last week. A total of 364 railroads received awards for performing at or above the industry average for Federal Railroad Administration-reportable injuries, including 332 honored “with distinction” for having no reportable […]
BENNET, Neb. — A BNSF Railway spur line is expected to be out of service for three weeks after a bridge collapsed as a result of a coal-train derailment Thursday evening. The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office said 18 cars were involved in the derailment, which occurred about 5 p.m. BNSF spokesman Ben Wilemon told the […]
EMD and GE diesels lead a Burlington Northern unit coal train past the Western Avenue commuter-train station and Union Avenue Tower, circa 1980. The train is bound for Joliet, Ill., via Illinois Central Gulf’s ex-GM&O line. Paul D. Schneider photo […]
WAYCROSS, Ga. — A locomotive and 19 cars of a CSX Transportation train derailed early this morning (Thursday, June 30), just north of Waycross, WCWJ-TV reports. The derailment occurred about 2:30 a.m. No injuries were reported and no hazardous material situation has been reported, although photos show at least one tank car with a placard […]
WASHINGTON — The leader of a federation of rail and other unions has written a group of U.S. senators asking that Congress give the Surface Transportation Board more power to enforce railroads’ common-carrier obligations as a way to address ongoing service issues. Tuesday’s letter from Greg Regan, president of the Transportation Trades Division, AFL-CIO — […]
WASHINGTON — With weekly traffic figures remaining depressed, year-to-date carload traffic for U.S. railroad has slipped below 2021 figures, albeit just slightly, according to the latest figures from the Association of American Railroads. Carload volume for the first 25 weeks of 2022 is down 0.1% from the same period a year ago, after being higher […]
MENDON, Mo. — National Transportation Safety Board investigators spent their first day on the scene of Monday’s fatal Southwest Chief derailment worked to gather information on train speed and other data from the locomotive event recorder, NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy told reporters on Tuesday evening. The NTSB also sought to examine video from the P42 […]
Steeple-cab motors 604 and 603 prepare to pull cars off Sacramento Northern’s ferry Ramon at Mallard, Calif., on the south shore of Suisun Bay in 1951. Reginald McGovern photo […]
HERSHEY, Neb. — Commissioners in Nebraska’s Lincoln County have voted to create an inland port authority to manage a planned rail-served industrial park, and to buy an adjacent factory site with a rail spur crucial to the industrial park plan. The North Platte Telegraph reports the commissioners voted 5-0 on Monday to create the port […]
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The state of Pennsylvania says it has reached a deal with Norfolk Southern on a previously announced plan to upgrade infrastructure between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, which would allow a second daily Amtrak train between those cities. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the $200 million deal will be finalized by the end of the […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has officially launched its TOP|SPG operating plan, which is primarily focused on improving the railroad’s intermodal network. “TOP|SPG works by making our daily operations simpler, more consistent, and executable,” Paul Duncan, vice president of network planning and operations, said in a statement on Monday. Implementing the new plan is an important […]
