LINTHICUM, Md. — The operator of a Maryland Transit Adminstration light rail train has been changed in the death of a 17-year-old killed in a grade crossing accident last February, the Baltimore Sun reports. Tavon Smith has been charged with negligent manslaughter, criminal negligence, and reckless endangerment, according to court records, in the death of […]
Section: News & Reviews
CRRC won’t be able to meet schedule calling for three-year-late delivery of MBTA cars
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority hasn’t received any new rapid-transit cars from CRRC’s Springfield, Mass., factory in seven months, and the company won’t meet a new schedule calling for completion of its 404-car order by September 2026, the agency’s board of directors was told today (Thursday, Jan. 26). And the long-term future of […]
Rail Center acrylic hobby paints line joins marketplace
The Rail Center acrylic hobby paints line has joined the model railroad marketplace. Ammo by Mig Jimenez, a Spanish paint manufacturer, recently unveiled its new line of railroad colors. The paints are sold in 17ml plastic bottles with a flip-top lid and metal stirring ball. The colors can be applied straight from the bottle with […]
Former L&N freight depot to be auctioned in Kentucky
HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. — A former freight station built by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad in 1905 will be sold at public auction on Friday by a public agency that no longer needs the brick structure for storage. The Hoptown Chronicle reports the building is owned by the Hopkinsville Water Environment Authority, which has owned it […]
Greenbrier affiliate Gunderson to close railcar plant, laying off 101
PORTLAND, Ore. — Railcar manufacturer The Greenbrier Cos. will close its Gunderson plant this spring, laying off 101 workers as it shifts production to other factories, the Oregonian newspaper reports. Layoffs will begin in March; some production at the plant will continue until May, at which time the company expects to complete the plant closure […]
Ottawa to seek settlement in light rail dispute
OTTAWA, Ontario — The Ottawa city council will seek a negotiated settlement in its long-running dispute over the builder of its troubled light rail Confederation Line, the CBC reports. The council directed its head of transit services to negotiate a settlement with builder Rideau Transit Group after spending five hours in a closed-door update on […]
U.S. weekly rail traffic remains down in third week of 2023
WASHINGTON — The downward trend for U.S. rail traffic continued for the week ending Jan. 21, with overall traffic down 2.1% compared to the same week in 2022. Total traffic was 467,485 carloads and intermodal units. That included 230,545 carloads, up 3.3%, and 236,940 trailers and containers, down 6.7%. Traffic through three weeks of 2023 […]
New York governor, MTA chief help inaugurate Grand Central Madison service
NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul and MTA CEO Janno Lieber were among an estimated 100 passengers on the first Long Island Rail Road train today (Wednesday, Jan. 25) to Grand Central Madison, the new Manhattan station deep beneath Grand Central Terminal. “Grand Central Madison is a game changer for New Yorkers, and I look […]
CSX expects volume to increase this year as service continues to improve
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation reported strong fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday and, despite signs of an economic slowdown, said it expected to gain volume this year thanks to ongoing service improvements. “I’m particularly proud to report that our service metrics continued to show real improvement through the fourth quarter after starting a clear upward trend […]
Justice Department chimes in, again, with concerns about CP-KCS merger
WASHINGTON — No one from the Justice Department bothered to testify at the Surface Transportation Board’s September hearing on the proposed merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern. But that absence doesn’t mean the Justice Department doesn’t have concerns about the first merger of Class I railroads in two decades. In a letter to […]
Former Milwaukee Road VP Paul Cruikshank Jr. dies
BLOOMFIELD, Conn. – Paul F. Cruikshank Jr., who served as Milwaukee Road’s vice president of operations during the critical years the railroad downsized and reorganized to a profitable core system, died Jan. 17 in Bloomfield. He was 93. Cruikshank had a long and varied railroad career. He started as a brakeman for the Great Northern Railway […]
CN operations chief Ed Harris: ‘Tighter schedule adherence … is near and dear to my heart’
MONTREAL — When it comes right down to it, railroading is not a complicated business, Canadian National Chief Operating Officer Ed Harris says. It’s all about sticking to a schedule, following the operating plan no matter what, and running safely. Harris, who served as CN’s operations boss from 2005 to 2007, was named COO on […]
