WASHINGTON — Federal regulators on Monday received a flurry of last-minute comments regarding CSX Transportation’s proposed acquisition of New England regional Pan Am Railways. The filings – from federal and state transportation officials, Norfolk Southern, and Genesee & Wyoming – were submitted on the deadline to respond to comments already made to the Surface Transportation Board […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Auto woes, Mexico protests crimp Kansas City Southern earnings
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City Southern’s profits slumped in the third quarter due to the impact of merger-related costs, but revenue was up sharply even as volumes declined slightly as a result of auto assembly plant shutdowns and protests that blocked the railroad’s route to a key Mexican port. The railroad today reported that […]
Federal regulators ask CSX to respond to shipper service complaints (updated)
WASHINGTON — Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman has asked CSX Transportation CEO Jim Foote to explain ongoing service problems that range from missed switches and unfulfilled car orders to delayed manifest and bulk shipments. “Over the past several months the Board has continued to receive a steady stream of complaints about the adequacy […]
Metrorail car in Arlington derailment had left tracks twice earlier the same day
WASHINGTON — The DC Metrorail train that derailed Oct. 12, stranding passengers in a tunnel near Arlington National Cemetery, had derailed twice before that day, the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday, and other cars in the same order had been involved in 31 failures since 2017. The Washington Post reports that inspections last week […]
News Photo: Dome-observation returns to VIA’s Churchill train
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Dome-lounge-observation Tweedsmuir Park brings up the rear of VIA Rail Canada’s Churchill-Winnipeg train No. 692 at Roblin, Man., on Oct. 18, marking the return of the Park class cars to the remote-service train for the first time since spring 2020. The train’s nine-car consist — including three coaches, three Chateau-series sleepers, a […]
DC Metrorail service to be limited after newest cars are sidelined
WASHINGTON — DC Metrorail service will face a significant service reduction as of Monday — and potentially for weeks to come — as the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority moves its newest rail cars, the Kawasaki-built 7000-series equipment, from service. The website DCist reports the independent Washington Metrorail Safety Commission ordered the cars removed from […]
BNSF to activate trackage rights over Union Pacific in Missouri to reach power plant
WASHINGTON – BNSF Railway will gain trackage rights over a short stretch of Union Pacific’s Jefferson City Subdivision in Missouri to begin serving a power plant 45 miles west of St. Louis. The 11.5 miles of trackage rights will allow BNSF to deliver coal trains from the Powder River Basin to Ameren’s power plant in Labadie, […]
DC Metrorail service restored through site of derailment
ARLINGTON, Va. — Full operation was restored Friday morning on the DC Metrorail Blue Line, more than two days after service was halted between the Arlington Cemetery and Foggy Bottom stations as the result of a derailment. An investigation led by the National Transportation Safety Board is continuing after one car of a train derailed […]
CSX honored for climate initiatives
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation has been honored by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions and The Climate Registry for its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The railroad has received a 2021 Climate Leadership Award for greenhouse gas reduction goal setting, recognizing ““exemplary corporate, organizational, and individual leadership in reducing carbon pollution and […]
TSB finds no evidence train caused fire that devastated Lytton, B.C.
GATINEAU, Quebec — No evidence links railway operations to the fire that destroyed the town of Lytton, British Columbia, in June, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in a Thursday news release. This means the TSB’s role in the investigation is complete “unless new information establishes that a TSB reportable event occurred.” The fire […]
FRA unveils ambitious Midwest Rail Plan
CHICAGO — Deputy Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose released the agency’s Midwest Regional Rail Plan at a Chicago Union Station media event Wednesday, characterizing it as “a 40-year multi-state framework and vision for restoring, modernizing, and expanding the existing intercity passenger rail network in the Midwest.” The blueprint, a culmination of two years collaborative work […]
NTSB to take lead role in Metrorail derailment investigation
ARLINGTON, Va. — The National Transportation Safety Board will take a lead role in the investigation of Tuesday’s derailment of a DC Metrorail Blue Line train, with a spokeswoman telling the Washington Post the NTSB chose to investigate because it could “advance a known safety issue,” based on previous Metrorail incidents. The accident occurred shortly […]