Canadian government to fund Port of Vancouver improvements

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The Canadian government will help fund an engineering study of capacity improvements for a Canadian Pacific rail line in Vancouver as part of a series of projects to improve container traffic in and around the Port of Vancouver. The study will look at improvements on the CP line connecting intermodal and […]

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Senate committee to look into DC Metrorail wheel defect

WMATA (DC Metro) logo

WASHINGTON — The leadership of the U.S. Senate committee responsible for transit policy has asked the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for detailed information on the wheelset defect that has sidelined the majority of the DC Metrorail car fleet. The Washington Post reports Sens. Sharrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.), the chairman and […]

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NTSB to investigate SEPTA-CSX collision

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority logo

DARBY, Pa. — The National Transportation Safety Board said it will send a team of four investigators to the site of Thursday’s accident between a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority trolley and CSX freight train at a diamond in Darby, Pa. Updated information from a SEPTA spokesman, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer, reports the trolley’s […]

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Amtrak sticks to employee vaccine mandate, prepares to announce reductions

Man in coat and tie speaking

WASHINGTON — Amtrak President Stephen Gardner’s presentation Thursday at a House committee hearing included justification for potential service cuts, related to the passenger railroad’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement, that may be announced next week. Gardner was taking part in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Rail Subcommittee hearing, “Leveraging Infrastructure and Jobs Act: Plans for Expanding […]

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U.S. weekly rail traffic continues to lag compared to 2020

Weekly table showing U.S. rail traffic by commodity, plus intermodal units

WASHINGTON — The months-long trend in U.S. rail traffic — with increased carload volume more than offset by lagging intermodal movements — continues in the latest statistics from the Association of American Railroads. For the week ending Dec. 4, 2021, railroads originated 255,044 carloads, a 3.9% increase over the same week in 2020, but the […]

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Canadian Pacific commits to New Orleans-Baton Rouge passenger train if KCS merger is approved (updated)

Amtrak train on track next to strip of grass

NEW ORLEANS — A senior Canadian Pacific official told New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La., civic leaders on Wednesday that the railroad will permit a single passenger round trip between the two cities, without any infrastructure improvements, if CP’s merger with Kansas City Southern is approved by the Surface Transportation Board. James Clements, Canadian Pacific’s […]

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MBTA staffing shortages lead to trolley, bus service cuts

Yellow and white streetcar at station

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will cut service on its Mattapan trolley line, as well more than 30 bus routes, because of an operator shortage. Boston.com reports the agency announced Tuesday that the cuts will be effective Dec. 19. Employee attrition has outstripped the ability to find new employees, officials say, leading to […]

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Analysis: Infrastructure gets scaled back in coal country

Rail line at curve with only ties remaining from a removed siding.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Seldom-used rail sidings and excess segments of double track are under review in coal country as CSX Transportation assesses its needs to handle coal traffic. In the past few months, the railroad’s engineering forces have taken a close look at infrastructure in the central Appalachian coalfields served by its former Chesapeake & […]

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