What was your first byline in Trains? Brian Solomon: My first photo appeared 1984; this was a black & white photo of a Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts trip on the Central Vermont Railway at Brattleboro, Vt. It featured a pair of F40PHs back to back in driving rain. My first trains written byline was early […]
BALASORE, India — A signal error caused a collision that has killed at least 275 people and injured more than 1,000, according to India’s railway minister. The Guardian reports that Ashwini Vaishnaw said the full investigation into the Friday crash was continuing but “the root cause has been identified.” Preliminary findings indicate the train, the […]
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers has ratified a new contract with Amtrak, the union announced today (Sunday, June 4). General Chairman Daniel N. Tavares III said in a letter to members that the agreement includes a 30% wage increase over the life of the contract, which compounds to […]
ANGOLA, Ind. — Nickel Plate Road steam locomotive No. 765 debuted for its 2023 operating season during the Memorial Day weekend with one-hour Indiana Ice Cream Train rides out of Angola. The 1944-built 2-8-4 officially kicked off the second year of the Indiana Rail Experience, a program of events and excursions in partnership with the […]
WASHINGTON — “Amtrak Operations: Examining the Challenges and Opportunities for improving Efficiency and Service” is the topic of a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing set for Tuesday, June 6, at 10 a.m. EDT. Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner is one of two witnesses scheduled to testify; the other is Mitch Warren, Northeast Corridor Commission executive […]
CALGARY, Alberta — CPKC is stoking interest in the revival of Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 Hudson No. 2816, which will set out on a tour this summer to celebrate the CP-Kansas City Southern merger. In social media posts, the railroad this week teased the progress made on the locomotive’s overhaul in preparation for its first outing […]
CHICAGO — Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw says the railroad remains steadfast in its commitment to taking a long-term view and a strategy that prioritizes service and growth. NS will continue to be a customer-centric, operations-driven railroad that realizes it makes and sells just one product: service. “Our customers have options. They’re really smart. And […]
BOSTON — Major improvement in Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority rail operations will take a year or more, MBTA board chair Thomas Glynn said in an online forum Thursday. “I think people will see a different T a year from now,” Glynn said, according to a Boston Herald report, “but I don’t know if they’ll see […]
NEW YORK — Excessive work hours pose a high safety risk for many Long Island Rail Road workers, the Office of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Inspector General says in a report issued Thursday. The audit, addressing hours for workers not covered by Federal Railroad Administration hours-of-service regulations, found that engineering department employees, particularly track workers, […]
Second of two parts Part 1 of this report, available here, examined how lack of capacity has adversely impacted Amtrak’s long-distance trains compared with the mobility the company has been able to provide in the Northeast Corridor. Part 2 considers possible solutions. Foreseeable shortfall The shortage of active bilevels was evident when deployment plans for […]
MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador said Thursday that that the government had extended a concession of rail operator Grupo Mexico’s Ferrosur unit for 8 years to compensate the company for the government’s seizure last month of a section of railway operated by Grupo Mexico. BNAmericas reports the extension covers the Medias […]
REDBANK, Queensland — Australia’s largest freight rail company, Aurizon, has contracted with Progress Rail to build what the companies are calling the first zero-emission-capable freight locomotive to be constructed in Australia, a battery-electric unit. Progress Rail will retrofit one of Aurizon’s existing 4000-class diesel locomotives, Clyde Engineering units built by Walkers, at the Progress Rail […]
