DENVER — Infrastructure company Rocky Mountain Industrials Inc has reached agreement with Patriot Rail Co. to provide service at the Rocky Mountain Rail Park, a 620-acre project some 29 miles east of downtown Denver in Adams County, Colo. The development features direct interchange with Union Pacific and is adjacent to Interstate 70. “The RMI team […]
Section: News Wire
West Virginia bridge to honor Korean War casualty, former C&O worker
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A resolution passed by the West Virginia Legislature will rename a highway bridge over the CSX Transportation main line in Prince, W.Va., for Harold Plumley, a Chesapeake & Ohio track worker and U.S. Army veteran killed during the Korean War. The Stanaford Road bridge on State Route 41 in Prince, known locally […]
CNJ No. 113 debuts for 100th birthday year
MINERSVILLE, Pa. — Central Railroad of New Jersey No. 113 made its 2023 debut on April 8th with the Easter Bunny Trains. These round-trip excursions operated out of Minersville, the locomotive’s home base, in partnership with the Reading & Northern Railroad. Passengers onboard celebrating the holiday weekend were treated to the sights and sounds of […]
Colebrookdale Trust will acquire locomotive from Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum will transfer ownership of former Canadian National 4-6-2 No. 5288 to the Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust in Boyertown, Pa., the two organizations announced Friday, with Colebrookdale planning to eventually restore the locomotive to operation. The engine will move to Pennsylvania as soon as possible. Built by Montreal […]
Two Norfolk Southern crew members injured in Alabama derailment
JASPER, Ala. — Two crew members were injured Saturday night when a locomotive and 11 cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed Saturday night, AL.com reports. Also on Saturday, an NS train was involved in a minor derailment in Pittsburgh. In the Alabama incident, the railroad said the locomotive rolled onto its side, spilling some […]
Alstom receives new contract for MARC operations, maintenance
BALTIMORE — The Maryland Transit Administration has awarded Alstom a five-year contract for operation and maintenance of the MARC commuter rail Camden and Brunswick lines, with options for two extensions. The initial contract is worth $401 million, with a total of value of $1.4 billion including the potential extensions in 2028 and 2033. Alstom, which […]
Minnesota legislature appears ready to fund Twin Cities-Duluth passenger train
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Funding to launch passenger rail service between the Twin Cities and Duluth, Minn., has been included in transportation bills in both houses of the Minnesota legislature, although the two versions provide substantially different levels of funding. The Duluth News Tribune reports that the budget bills prepared by both houses, controlled by […]
Virginia seeks additional funding for Long Bridge project
RICHMOND, Va. — The cost of a second rail bridge over the Potomac River — a key part of Virginia’s plan for major expansion of Amtrak and commuter-rail service on the I-95 corridor south from Washington, D.C.— has risen substantially, leading to a $389 million shortfall, the Washington Post reports.= The new two-track Long Bridge […]
FRA issues safety advisory on train makeup issues
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration on Friday issued a safety advisory calling on railroads to address potential safety risks resulting from the structure of long freight trains, saying it has “noticed a rising trend in recent incidents where train build and makeup have been identified as a potential cause or contributing factor.” Limitations on […]
CSX reaches sick-time deal with SMART-MD
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation has reached an agreement with the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Mechanical Department (SMART-MD) to provide paid sick leave, its ninth such agreement with a union representing CSX workers. “CSX continues to work collaboratively with all of our union partners to find solutions that improve the […]
East Palestine has put railroads under a cloud of suspicion: Analysis
All the positive freight railroad safety statistics in the world — like more than 99.9% of hazardous materials shipments arriving without incident — can’t overcome that image of a towering column of black smoke rising from East Palestine, Ohio. The toxic cloud from the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment did far more than upend 4,700 […]
Amtrak mobility, pricing affected by sidelined long-distance equipment: Analysis
WASHINGTON — For passengers on long-distance trains, compared to those on the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak is falling short of its pledge to “restore our business to pre-pandemic levels,” as voiced by Vice President Dennis Newman at a public Board of Directors meeting in St. Louis last December. Demand for long-distance travel was the strongest among […]