BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority eliminated 37 speed restrictions on an 18-mile section of track during a 24-day shutdown of a portion of its Red Line Braintree Branch, the transit agency says. Work was conducted between the JFK/UMass stations from Sept. 6 to Sept. 29, with one day of work also extended onto […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Shore Line East adds two round trips, restores Stamford-New London service
NEWINGTON, Conn. — Shore Line East commuter rail service will gain two additional round trips and see the resumption of direct service between Stamford, Conn., and New London as of Monday, Oct. 7, the Connecticut Department of Transportation has announced. Added are westbound trains No. 1633, departing New London at 5:46 a.m. and arriving at Stamford […]
BNSF tells regulators it’s set to handle ongoing surge in West Coast container volume
WASHINGTON — With an East Coast port strike set to begin tomorrow, BNSF Railway says it’s ready to handle additional container volume from West Coast ports, citing the record volumes it has already moved this year while maintaining service levels. “Although no work stoppages have occurred yet, volume shifts to the west coast have already […]
Norfolk Southern lines from Georgia to West Virginia still out of service after Hurricane Heline
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern crews are out across the network tending to widespread damages caused by Hurricane Helene on Friday. Rail service is still suspended across many lines from Georgia to West Virginia. Railroad crews are spending today (Monday, Sept. 30) clearing trees across a 70-mile section of its Brunswick District between Macon, Ga., and […]
Thinking about Appalachia’s railroaders: Commentary
ERWIN, Tenn. — Railroaders take pride in the work they do. They provide for their families. They play an irreplaceable role in the movement of goods in the U.S. economy and they re-invest their hard-earned wages into the communities they live and work — building homes, shopping local, and supporting small communities where railroads have […]
New feed mill opens on Pennsylvania’s North Shore Railroad
NEW COLUMBIA, Pa. — A ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Sept. 27, marked the completion of a new feed mill to be served by the North Shore Railroad’s Union County Industrial Railroad. The $47 million mill for Country View Family Farms, a division of Clemens Food Group LLC, was completed following two years of construction. The […]
CSX’s former Clinchfield largely unrecognizable after historic flood
ERWIN, Tenn. — CSX Transportation’s ex-Clinchfield Railroad mainline has seen devastating impacts from Hurricane Helene’s once-in-a-generation flood. It is still too early to determine the full extent of damages, but photos along the famed Clinchfield route are revealing extensive damage exacerbated by the region’s remoteness. High waters are prohibiting emergency responders and railroad officials from […]
You can only predict for so much: Seminole Gulf reflects on Hurricane Ian two years later
FORT MYERS, Fla. — It has been two years since Hurricane Ian devastated Southwest Florida as a Category 5 hurricane, but for rail shippers in far southwestern Florida, railcars only started moving again a few months ago. Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwestern Florida on Sept. 28, 2022, with a record-setting storm surge, unprecedented inland […]
Once-in-a-generation floods hit North Carolina mountain railroads (additional update)
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Communities along the former Southern Railway and Clinchfield Railroad in western North Carolina have seen record-setting rainfalls in the days prior to Hurricane Helene. Now, tropical weather is pouring additional rainfall into the area, creating what local meteorologists are calling a once-in-a-generation storm. Places along NS’ former Southern S-Line on the French […]
Mt. Rainier Scenic acquires cars from North Carolina museum
ELBE, Wash. — The Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad has purchased three ex-Reading Co. passenger cars from the North Carolina Transportation for use in its steam heritage rail operations. Mt. Rainier Scenic said in a press release that the museum determined the cars, built between 1922 and 1927 by the Standard Steel Car Co. and Bethlehem […]
Ohio tourist railroad receives grant to help restore Alco S4 to operation
GRAND RAPIDS, Ohio — The Toledo, Lake Erie & Western Railway and Museum has received a grant to help restore its former Chesapeake & Ohio Alco S4, No. 5109, to operating condition, the organization has announced. The Anderson Foundation has awarded a $5,140 grant that the tourist railroad says in a Facebook post will be […]
MBTA sets October maintenance shutdowns
BOSTON — A series of shutdowns on the rapid transit Orange Line and a week of disruptions for the Mattapan Line trolley operationare the primary focal points for Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority track work in October, part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to address a maintenance backlog. Two weekends of shutdowns on the Green Line […]