WASHINGTON — Amtrak says checked baggage service is being dropped this fall from two state-supported routes “due to equipment shortages” — even though the company received 70 new baggage cars as part of its 125-car Viewliner II equipment order from CAF USA in 2014-15. The company now says, however, that a notice posted in at […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
NTSB recommends update of weather alerts as a result of CSX derailment
WASHINGTON — CSX Transportation’s use of a weather alert system which did not sufficiently account for extreme rainfall was a contributing factor in a Feb. 13, 2020, derailment and fire caused by a mudslide in Draffin, Ky., the National Transportation Safety Board concluded in its final report on the incident. The report, completed in August, […]
DC Metrorail wheel problems predated current equipment, may be related to track
WASHINGTON — The independent safety agency that oversees the DC Metrorail system says the wheel problems that have sidelined most of Metro’s newest railcars also existed on older cars, and may stem from a track issue the agency was told about in 2015 but never addressed. The Washington Post reports the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission […]
Four injured as CSX trains collide in Miami
MIAMI — Four people were injured Saturday evening when two CSX freight trains collided near Miami International Airport, WPLG-TV reports. The accident was reported about 7 p.m. near the area of Northwest 15th Street and South Perimeter roads, with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue dispatching more than 25 units, including a hazardous materials team. The four people […]
Major shipper says reopening of hump yards has helped improve rail service
PITTSBURGH — Service on the big four U.S. Class I railroads is improving slowly but remains uneven amid ongoing and sporadic crew shortages, shippers said this week at the North East Association of Rail Shippers conference. One thing that’s helped improve service is the resumption of hump operations at several yards over the past few […]
BNSF to test Progress Rail battery-electric locomotives in Southern California
BERLIN — Progress Rail will provide up to four EMD Joule battery-electric locomotives to BNSF for testing in Southern California, the company has announced today at InnoTrans. The trial, to be supported in part by government grants, will also see Progress provide two charging stations for the locomotives. The SD70J units will have 8 Megawatt-hours […]
New Strasburg GM packs experience, skills
STRASBURG, Pa. – Jim Hager brings a host of skills and experience to his new job as general manager of the 190-year-old Strasburg Rail Road, America’s oldest short line and now one of the country’s busiest and longest-running steam tourist railroads. A New Jersey native, he started hanging around the Black River & Western, another […]
Amtrak sets goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has pledged to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its network by 2045, the company announced Thursday. “With new equipment, modernized stations, and net zero emissions, Amtrak can lead the drive toward sustainable transportation throughout the nation,” CEO Stephen Gardner said in a press release. The company said its efforts to […]
Railroads need to cooperate and think long term if they are to grow, short line executive says
PITTSBURGH — Railroads need to collaborate and take a long-term view if they are to make the most of their traffic growth opportunities, Michael Miller, president of Genesee & Wyoming’s North American operations, told a shipper conference on Wednesday. “We as an industry have always looked at it as ‘What’s in it for me? What’s […]
Three injured in Denver-area light-rail derailment (updated)
AURORA, Colo. — Three people were taken to local hospitals with injuries after a Regional Transportation District light-rail train derailed in Aurora on Wednesday afternoon, the Denver Post reports. The accident occurred about 3:45 p.m. on a tight curve through the intersection at South Sable Boulevard and East Exposition Avenue. That location is about a […]
Chicago’s CREATE lands $70 million federal grant for Westside project
CHICAGO — Chicago’s CREATE Program will receive $70 million in federal funding for a $170 million project to modernize a 2-mile stretch of Union Pacific track on the city’s west side, the partners in the Chicago Region Environment and Transportation Efficiency Program have announced. The Westside Gateway or Ogden Junction project, project WA1 on CREATE’s […]
Preliminary NTSB report on UP fatality says train struck derail
EL PASO, Texas — A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board says a Union Pacific conductor was killed last month when riding on a car that struck a derail during a switching move near UP’s Alfalfa Yard in El Paso. Train ISIEP-29, consisting of a locomotive and 61 cars, was making a reverse […]