CHICAGO — Amtrak has canceled plans to offer Polar Express holiday rides from Chicago Union Station in 2022, citing ongoing staff shortages. A message on the Polar Express Union Station Facebook page cites “a system-wide shortage of railroad personnel” that means there are not enough crews to operate the trains. “We have enjoyed operating the […]
BLUE ISLAND, Ill. — No injuries were reported after a Metra train derailed Saturday morning, Aug. 6, near the Vermont Avenue station in Blue Island. Train No. 205, the first Saturday morning Rock Island District train from Chicago to Joliet, derailed about 9:15 a.m.. WFLD-TV reports the locomotive and one car of the train derailed. […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has announced plans for another significant closure of one of its rail transit lines, just two days after saying it would shut down another line entirely. The Boston Globe reports the MBTA plans to pose a portion of the Green Line for four weeks beginning Aug. 22, and […]
MILWAUKIE, Ore. — Three people were injured Friday when a Tri-Met light rail train crashed into the end-of-track bumper at the Southeast Park Avenue station in Milwaukee. KATU-TV reports the train’s operator and two of the three passengers onboard were injured; the operator was transported to a nearby hospital. Tri-Met spokeswoman Tia York said the […]
WASHINGTON — The Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger would cause few if any adverse environmental impacts aside from increased train noise in some locations, the Surface Transportation Board said in a draft environmental analysis released on Friday. The 357-page draft EIS also said the merger would have little effect on rail safety or emergency response […]
NEW YORK — Nine Amtrak executives received bonuses of $200,000 or more in 2021 despite lower ridership and revenue in the wake of the COViD-19 pandemic, after none were awarded in 2020, the New York Times has reported. Six people received bonuses of $200,000 or more in pre-pandemic 2019. There were also no bonuses awarded […]
Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman says railroad service is suffering for one simple reason: The big four U.S. Class I systems aren’t paying enough to retain and recruit train crews. BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific are experiencing ongoing crew shortages that since last year have caused widespread congestion and […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Two of 11 weekday Amtrak round trips between Sacramento and Oakland’s Jack London Square station will be suspended beginning Aug. 15 by the operating agency, the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority. The suspensions are scheduled to last through Oct. 2. An announcement to riders says the “service reduction is necessary due to […]
DAVENPORT, Iowa — A former mayor of Davenport is urging the city to turn down its tentative $10 million agreement with Canadian Pacific and organize a regional effort to block the railroad’s proposed merger with Kansas City Southern. Meanwhile, the city of Muscatine, some 30 miles southwest along the Mississippi River, has approved a $3 […]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern, Canadian Pacific, and equipment leasing company GATX are among the parties launching an effort to save the monarch butterfly by contributing to its habitat at a preserve in Mexico. The Save the Monarch Butterfly 60,000 Tree Challenge North American Boxcar Tour aims to raise $100,000 to plant 60,000 […]
WASHINGTON — The independent agency which oversees DC Metrorail safety issues has ordered the transit operator to inspect, clean, and maintain control rooms at its stations, saying Metro has failed to live up to its pledge to do so. The Washington Post reports the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission conducted inspections of control rooms across the […]
WASHINGTON — When veteran Union Pacific locomotive engineer Michael Lindsey II looks at the industry he loves, he doesn’t like what he sees. So he has become outspoken on issues ranging from crew shortages and ongoing service problems to labor contracts and railroad regulation. He’s written two letters to the Surface Transportation Board this year. […]
