ROSELLE, Ill. — Eight Chicago suburbs are forming a coalition to voice concerns over the potential increase in rail traffic through their communities if the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger is approved. The suburban Daily Herald reports Roselle, Elgin, Barlett, Hanover Park, Schaumburg, Itasca, Wood Dale and Bensenville are asking residents to submit comments to […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
STB clears path for Uinta Basin Railway project
WASHINGTON — A Surface Transportation Board decision has cleared the way for construction of Utah’s Uinta Basin Railway. In a decision issued Wednesday, the board granted the exemption sought by the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition to construct the 85-mile line to connect oilfields in western Utah to the national rail network at a junction with […]
Letter from Brightline CEO says car modifications are easiest solution to clearance issues at station
MIAMI — Tri-Rail and Brightline are each suggesting the other party is at fault after Tri-Rail management told the agency’s board last week that the commuter agency’s trains would not clear the platform at Brightline’s MiamiCentral station [see “Tri-Rail service to Brightline’s Miami station faces clearance issues …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 13, 2021]. The […]
Greenbrier joins Rail Pulse technology consortium
LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. — Railcar manufacturer The Greenbrier Companies has joined the Rail Pulse coalition, becoming the first company beyond the five founding members to join the effort to develop GPS and telematic technology for railcar tracking and other applications. Norfolk Southern, Genesee & Wyoming, Watco, GATX Corp, and TrinityRail formed Rail Pulse in 2020. […]
Winds blamed for BNSF derailment in Oklahoma
ENID, Okla. — High winds are being cited as the cause of a derailment of a BNSF Railway intermodal train near Enid on Wednesday. KWTV reports the accident occurred about 1 p.m., and reports 21 cars carrying a total of 32 containers derailed. No injuries were reported and the cause is under investigation. The Weather […]
DOT-FRA filing in Gulf Coast case offers detailed criticism of CSX-NS arguments
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Railroad Administration call for the Surface Transportation Board to order the restoration of Amtrak service along the Gulf Coast — and offer detailed criticism of arguments by CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern against that service — in a Tuesday filing with the Surface Transportation Board. The […]
Amtrak shifts vaccination policy, will avoid service reductions
WASHINGTON — Amtrak will revert to its original COVID-19 vaccination policy, which allows testing as an alternative to vaccination, in light of a court ruling halting a federal executive order blocking enforcement of a vaccination mandate. As a result, the passenger railroad does not anticipate that it will need to make any service reductions in […]
Kansas City Southern enters voting trust
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern’s sale to Canadian Pacific has officially been completed, allowing the KCS shares to be placed into a voting trust while the deal is reviewed by federal regulators. The $31 billion deal sees KCS stockholders receive 2.884 shares of CP common stock and $90 in case for each share […]
Canadian National, Google Cloud announce seven-year partnership
MONTREAL — Canadian National has announced a seven-year deal with Google Cloud to modernize the railroad’s technology infrastructure and improve customers’ ability to ship and track cargo moves. CN says the move will use Google Cloud’s expertise in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics to provide customers and supply-chain partners with planning, shipping, tracking, […]
Transportation Safety Board releases report on fatal Montreal yard accident
MONTREAL — A jerk caused by slack action, following a sudden brake application, resulted in a railroad crewman falling from a car he was riding in a fatal January accident at Canadian National’s Pointe-Saint-Charles Yard in Montreal, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada determined in a report released Monday. The Jan. 6, 2021, accident killed […]
Tri-Rail service to Brightline’s Miami station faces clearance issues
MIAMI — A long-delayed plan to bring Tri-Rail commuter service to Brightline’s downtown MiamiCentral station has hit a new snag: Tri-Rail’s cars will not fit in the station — and they may also be too heavy for the viaduct lifting the tracks from street level to MiamiCentral’s above-ground platforms. The Miami Herald reports that an […]
New York MTA sets farewell for long-serving subway equipment
NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has announced plans for a series of celebratory final runs as it retires subway equipment that it says are some of the world’s oldest active subway cars. The R32 cars, nicknamed Brightliners, were built by the Budd Co. in Philadelphia, with the first of the cars making their […]