Rail volume up 11.4 percent in weekly statistics

Table showing rail carload and intermodal volume

WASHINGTON — With continued strength of intermodal traffic and a rare rise in carload traffic as recovery continued from February’s winter weather issues, U.S. railroads showed an 11.4% increase in total volume for the week ending March 6, 2021, compared to the same week last year. The latest statistics from the Association of American Railroads […]

Read More…

Digest: NTSB releases preliminary report on UP track worker fatality

Maintenance of Way tie tamper machine

NTSB issues preliminary report on UP track worker fatality The National Transportation Safety Board indicates it will examine Union Pacific operating rules and the condition of a piece of equipment as part of its ongoing investigation of a fatal accident involving a UP maintenance-of-way worker near Vail, Ariz., in January. In its preliminary report, the […]

Read More…

Amtrak revives Northeast Corridor sleeping cars

Attendant on platform outside train at night in snow

WASHINGTON — Passengers opting to take the train between Boston and Washington, D.C., will have a long-overdue alternative to the 7-hour daytime journey aboard Acela, Amtrak’s fastest train. Overnight northbound train No. 66 and southbound No. 67 (No. 65 on Friday and Saturday nights) are scheduled at 9 to 10 hours depending on the direction […]

Read More…

Digest: Amtrak adding sleeping-car service on Northeast Corridor

Amtrak logo

Amtrak to offer sleeping cars on Northeast Regional trains beginning April 5 Amtrak will return sleeping-car service to the Northeast Corridor beginning April 5, with sleepers added to one overnight Northeast Regional train in each direction. Northbound, train No. 66 will depart Washington Union Station at 10 p.m., arriving in New York at 1:55 a.m. […]

Read More…

Wine shipper touts local service from short line railroads

A major wine shipper has located its facilities almost exclusively on short line railroads with access to two Class I systems as a way to ensure better local service and more competitive rates. G3 Enterprises, which handles shipping for 28 of the top 30 wineries in the U.S., operates regional distribution centers in nine states. […]

Read More…

Digest: DC Metro proposal could cut 22 stations

WMATA/DC Metro logo in black and white.

DC Metro proposal would see 22 stations closed, rail service reduced as of January 2022 The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority would could close 22 Metrorail stations, reduce rail service to 30-minute intervals on all routes, and shut down nightly at 9 p.m. instead of the current 11 p.m. under the rail component of a […]

Read More…

Digest: East Broad Top work uncovers decayed dynamite

East Broad Top logo

Friday afternoon rail news: Work at East Broad Top uncovers, removes decayed dynamite Stabilization work on a building at the East Broad Top Railroad took an unexpected turn this week with the discovery of five cases of material labeled as explosives. After work halted, analysis determined the material was probably decayed dynamite, estimated to be […]

Read More…