OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific has joined the RailPulse joint venture that will provide customers with real-time location information for freight cars wherever they are on the North American rail network. UP becomes the second Class I railroad to participate in RailPulse, alongside founding member Norfolk Southern. The company’s other partners include shortline holding companies […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Amtrak adds Capitol Limited bike capacity
WASHINGTON—Effective immediately, each departure of the Chicago-Washington, D.C. Capitol Limited is accepting reservations for up to 12 full-size bicycles along the route of a train that parallels popular trails through Maryland, West Virginia, and southern Pennsylvania. Last Friday, Amtrak announced increased capacity through mid-September, “due to high demand.” For $20, passengers can check a bike […]
Canadian National orders Wabtec’s new Precision Dispatch System
Canadian National is the first railway to order a new dispatching system that Wabtec says is a major building block toward network automation, the companies announced on June 6. The latest version of Wabtec’s Precision Dispatch System is scheduled to be operational at CN in late 2023. CN completed installation of an earlier version of […]
NEWS VIDEO: New Brightline route drawbridge now operating
Video by Mark Elias, Mark Elias Media Services JUPITER, Fla. — Florida East Coast Railway’s new Loxahatchee River drawbridge that will begin carrying frequent Brightline passenger trains in early 2023 is now being raised for boat traffic and lowered for trains. Dismantling of the former 96-year-old bridge on the site began in mid-April, when accommodations […]
3 people in hot air balloon injured in collision with CN freight train
BURLINGTON, Wis. — Three occupants of a hot air balloon sustained life-threatening injuries when their craft collided with a Canadian National freight train on Wednesday night. At 8:15 p.m. on June 1 the Burlington Police Department responded to the 400 block of Calumet Street after receiving a report that a balloon had been struck by […]
War in Ukraine sees massive rail destruction, passenger trains reinstated, armored trains
Ukrainian rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) has continued to operate services across the country despite Russian attacks which have damaged both tracks and electrical equipment used to provide traction current. Railways continue be a major part of the war for both Ukraine and Russia. Here’s a look at recent events: UZ faces employee deaths, significant damage […]
East Side Access terminal gets new name
NEW YORK — The New York City terminal for Long Island Rail Road’s East Side Access project has a new name: Grand Central Madison. The long-delayed, $11.2 billion project to build a new LIRR station in midtown Manhattan, deep beneath Grand Central Terminal, received the new name in a Tuesday press conference featuring New York […]
NS gets final approval for double-stack clearance projects in Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH — Norfolk Southern has received final approval for clearance projects that will allow double-track container traffic to move on one of its routes through Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday accepted the final portion of an agreement reached by a mediator in December 2019. That agreement will allow three […]
‘Texas Eagle’ show Amtrak failure to capitalize on advantages of rail travel: Special report
ABOARD THE TEXAS EAGLE — “There is no Sightseer Lounge on this train. Once again, there is no Sightseer Lounge on this train,” emphasized the public-address announcement. “You must buy food to sit in the café car; if you don’t buy food and we see you sitting in the café, we will ask you to […]
CSX, NS call Amtrak request for more Gulf Coast information ‘irrelevant, unhelpful’
WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s continuing effort to gain access to data relating to freight traffic on the route of its proposed Gulf Coast passenger service has drawn strong protest from CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern. In a Tuesday filing with the Surface Transportation Board, the two freight railroads urged the board to reject the passenger operator’s […]
Canadian Pacific reaches deal with shipping line CMA CGM
CALGARY — Canadian Pacific and international shipping line CMA CGM group have reached a multi-year agreement that will see CP become the shipping firm’s primary rail provider in Canada, serving ports in Vancouver, Montreal, and Saint John, New Brunswick. “CP is proud to provide CMA CGM with safe and reliable service that includes the shortest […]
West Virginia Alco-powered short line has Ukrainian ties
ALEXANDER, W.Va. — West Virginia’s coal history is a cyclical tale of boom-and-bust periods driven by the world’s appetite for the state’s most abundant fossil fuel. Agility and resiliency have carried coal and its closely linked partner, railroading, through periods of prosperity and dispersity. Today in one of the state’s most rural dwellings is a […]