SAN JOSE, Calif. — Light rail service in the San Jose area may be suspended for months as a result of last week’s mass shooting that left 10 Valley Transportation Authority workers, including the shooter, dead. That is the word from an agency spokeswoman, the San Jose Mercury News reports, as VTA determines how to […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Digest: FBI agent charged in shooting onboard DC Metro train
FBI agent faces attempted murder charge for shooting on Metrorail train An FBI agent has been charged with second-degree attempted murder as a result of a 2020 shooting aboard a DC Metro subway train. The Washington Post reports Eduardo Valdivia, 37, was also charged with first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and use of a firearm in […]
Digest: NJ Transit announces additional commuter rail service
NJ transit adds weekday trains, weekend Gladstone Branch trains, North Jersey Coast shuttles NJ Transit announced it would add 60 trains to its commuter rail schedules as of June 6, including select weekday trains throughout the system, weekend Gladstone Branch trains, and additional Long Branch-Bay Head shuttle trains on the North Jersey Coast Line. Weekday […]
Amtrak Cascades engineer, in first interview since fatal derailment, says he relives accident daily
TACOMA, Wash. — The engineer who was at the controls for the fatal Amtrak Cascades derailment in 2017 says he’s still trying to get his operating license back, although admitting that’s unlikely, and says he relives the accident “all day” during his waking hours. Steven Brown, the 59-year-old engineer who was fired by Amtrak as […]
Digest: Transport Canada issues new rules on track maintenance
Transport Canada issues series of new rules on track maintenance Transport Canada issued new rules on track inspection and management on Monday updating the agency’s Rules Respecting Track Safety on a number of fronts, to be addressed in three stages. As outlined in a ministerial order, the first stage addresses training, verification, and record-keeping for […]
Digest: U.S. Sugar to use steam locomotive on final train of sugar cane harvest
Steam-powered train to mark end of Florida sugar cane harvest The public is invited Monday to see U.S. Sugar’s Sugar Express steam locomotive, 4-6-2 No. 148, operate on the last cane train of the season, signaling the end of the sugar cane harvest. The train is slated to depart the Sugarton Elevator west of Clewiston, […]
Digest: Deal appears to be in place to keep Ontario’s Huron Central running
Deal will provide $33 million for Huron Central route repairs The threatened closure of Ontario’s Huron Central Railway appears to have again been averted. Northern Ontario Business reports the co-chair of a task force working to save the 173-mile line between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury says the railroad is “comfortable that it will in […]
Seatrain at anchor
Seatrain at anchor Wearing the shipping line’s distinctive stylized railroad track funnel markings, Seatrain Georgia and a sister are moored at Edgewater, N.J. The dock crane was fixed, so precise positioning was crucial. […]
Amtrak ‘Corridor Vision’ report addresses expansion plans, calls for $75 billion
WASHINGTON — Amtrak today released a report offering more details on the “Connect US” map it released earlier this year for service expansion. What the company is calling its “Corridor Vision” report calls for a $75 billion federal investment over 75 years to add 39 new routes and enhance service on 25 others, leading to […]
STB chairman critical of Wall Street influence on railroads, questions need for mergers (updated)
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Surface Transportation Board says he’s concerned that pressure from Wall Street is undermining railroad service and questioned the need for major railroad mergers. “Our mandate as an agency … is to ensure and protect a strong national rail network. That’s why we exist. And everything we do should be aimed […]
Digest: CP says CN plan to sell line in Louisiana fails to address larger competitive concerns
CP calls CN plan to sell KCS line ‘token divestment,’ remains critical of merger’s competitive impact Canadian Pacific says Canadian National’s plans to divest a Kansas City Southern line in Louisiana is “clear recognition” of the competitive issues created by the proposed CN-KCS merger. In a Thursday statement, CP also said the “token divestment” would […]
U.S. rail volume continues to outpace 2020 figures
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic remains well ahead of 2020 figures —both for the week ending May 22 and in year-to-date totals — according to the latest statistics released by the Association of American Railroads. For the week, U.S. railroads moved 242,227 carloads — up 27.2% over the corresponding week in 2020 — and 286,547 intermodal […]