Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz Union Pacific OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific has slowed work on the new hump yard it is building near Hearne, Texas, and no longer has a firm opening date for the $550-million Brazos Yard. UP now has about 90 contractors working on the yard, down from 300. Crews were aiming […]
A BNSF Railway track backhoe removes debris from flooded trackage on the Creston Subdivision on the Southeast edge of Pacific Junction, Iowa on Tuesday, March 26, 2019. Steve Smedley Looking west at the Nebraska Central Railroad’s bridge over the Loup River at Monroe, Neb., on Tuesday evening. Steve Smedley Looking north on the BNSF Railway’s […]
Smithville Area Chamber of Commerce SMITHVILLE, Texas – A fire destroyed the building that housed a railroad museum and the Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center in Smithville on March 24 in a blaze that officials said was likely started by an arsonist. The museum displays included old timetables, photographs, uniforms, and tickets that had […]
Flooding of the Platte River, south of Omaha, Neb., has destroyed spans of BNSF Railway’s Omaha Subdivision, along with the Union Pacific’s Fall City Subdivision. On Tuesday morning, a Union Pacific crane was working on removing a log jam on the upstream side of the bridge. Steve Smedley Three truckloads of rock are being dumped […]
HOUSTON — A high-speed rail project in Texas could see significant growth in the near future as land acquisition efforts by the developing company are ramped up. According to a Community Impact Newspaper report, Texas Central, the company undertaking the project, has acquired about 30 percent of the land parcels needed to support the land […]
Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz Union Pacific NEW YORK — Construction is proceeding on the new hump yard Union Pacific is building in Texas, but the railroad will use the yard differently than originally envisioned due to its shift to Precision Scheduled Railroading. “We continue to evaluate exactly how are we going to use it,” […]
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The Oklahoma House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved House Bill 2472, a Republican-backed measure to allow law enforcement to fine railroads up to $10,000 for blocking grade crossings for more than 10 minutes. The bill, which enjoys large bi-partisan support, passed by a vote of 92-5, and will now move forward to […]
Athens, Texas Google Maps ATHENS, Texas — One East Texas student is dead and one is injured after an Athens Independent School District bus driver drove in front of a Union Pacific freight train on Friday afternoon. The collision took place just after 4 p.m. in south Athens, and left the school bus partially wrapped […]
A TEXRail train passes equipment of the Grapevine Vintage Railroad in Grapevine, Texas. After a big opening weekend, TEXRail has begun considering expansion. Lance Lassen FORT WORTH, Texas — The TEXRail commuter line carried more than 11,000 riders in its first weekend, prompting officials at its parent organization, Trinity Metro, to start talking about expanding […]
A UP freight derailed Wednesday in Texas, narrowly missing a house. Ed Miller AUBREY, Texas — A Union Pacific freight train that derailed in Aubrey, Texas, Wednesday morning, narrowly missed a trackside house. CBS station DFW reports that one locomotive and six cars derailed and remained upright. Seven other cars left the tracks and overturned […]
MARCO ISLAND, Florida – BNSF Railway’s capital plans for 2019 include a cluster of major bridge projects in Washington state, and pairs of bridges near Quenemo, Kan., and on the Hannibal subdivision in Missouri. Not included is a bridge over the Missouri River at Bismarck, N.D., and therein lies a tale that serves an an […]
FORT WORTH, Texas— Dallas-Fort Worth area commuters looking forward to the Jan. 5 startup of TEXRail will have to wait until the federal government reopens before riding the area’s newest commuter train. “We have been unable to get clearance to operate the entire 27-mile corridor from the Federal Railroad Administration,” Trinity Metro, the train’s operator, […]
