CHICAGO — The locomotive of an Amtrak Michigan Service train derailed at Chicago Union Station on Friday, leading to some Metra delays and cancellations as well as Amtrak delays. No injures were reported. Patch.com reports the derailment occurred as the Amtrak train arrived from Michigan. Metra informed customers on Twitter that three SouthWest Service trains […]
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Surfliner, Metrolink could face another extended stoppage in Orange County
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — The latest landslide interrupting rail service between Los Angeles and San Diego continued on Friday, increasing chances that Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner service between the two cities, and Metrolink service to Oceanside, could face another extended interruption. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the hill continued to slide behind the Casa Romantica […]
Conductors ratify CSX sick-time agreement
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Conductors and trainmen on CSX Transportation’s northern lines have ratified an agreement for paid sick time reached earlier this month, their union announced Friday. Members of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division GO-049 ratified the agreement on a majority of ballots returned, SMART General Chairperson Richard Lee announced. Exact ballot […]
The Buffalo & Susquehanna Railroad
For most of my 70 plus years I have been interested in trains. Wherever I lived, I built a number of layouts in basements and attics. It was not until I became interested in the life of the Buffalo & Susquehanna Railroad that I thought it would be a railroad to model. It could not […]
Norfolk Southern, conductors reach deal on sick time, scheduled days off, extra weekend pay
Norfolk Southern and the union representing conductors have reached what they are terming a “ground-breaking, system-wide agreement” to address quality-of-life issues — not just paid sick leave, but scheduled days off, and additional pay for weekends and time away from home. NS and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division […]
Downtown Seattle light rail service disrupted by construction accident
SEATTLE — Light rail service in Seattle is facing a significant disruption for two weeks because of damage to the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel caused by construction at a station, Sound Transit has announced. The service change began Thursday night as a result of damage Tuesday when a ground-level construction crew broke through the roof […]
Santa Cruz, Monterey counties receive funding for rail projects
SANTA CRUZ, Calif — Two counties on California’s central coast have received almost $6 million to advance a pair of rail projects thanks to state funding announced earlier this week. The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission was awarded $3.45 million to fund a Project Concept Report for the proposed passenger rail service on the […]
Union Pacific dramatically scales back use of congestion-related embargoes
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific has significantly reduced its use of congestion-related embargoes, which last year drew scrutiny from the Surface Transportation Board and scorn from shippers. UP dramatically increased its use of embargoes last year, when it issued the vast majority of Class I railroad embargoes in order to prevent its local yards from clogging […]
Montana railroad sues utility company over fire damage
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A Montana short line is suing a utility company over a November 2021 wildfire that caused significant damage to the railroad. Central Montana Rail, an 84-mile railroad based in Denton, Mont., is suing NorthWestern Energy over damage from a fire that largely destroyed the town of Denton, as well as a […]
Prison inmate sues Norfolk Southern over East Palestine derailment
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — In the latest twist on lawsuits stemming from the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, a prison inmate is suing Norfolk Southern and its CEO, Alan Shaw, over alleged exposure to chemicals as a result of the Feb. 3 incident. Reuters reports that Joshua Turner, incarcerated at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown, […]
Landslide again halts Metrolink, Surfliner service in California’s Orange County (updated)
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink commuter rail operation in south Orange County has again been interrupted by a landslide in San Clemente — but not at the same location that shut down the line between Los Angeles and San Diego for months. A slight landslide occurred north of Metrolink’s San Clemente […]
Injuries reported in BNSF derailment along Mississippi River (updated)
DE SOTO, Wis. — Four people are now reported to have required medical treatment after a BNSF Railway train derailed along the Mississippi River on Thursday afternoon, with two cars entering the river. Spectrum News reports an ambulance service transported four patients to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries in relation to the injury. A BNSF […]