KEYTESVILLE, Mo. — A judge in Chariton County, Mo., has scheduled a hearing on whether to delay lawsuits over the June 27 derailment of Amtrak’s Southwest Chief while the National Transportation Safety Board continues its investigation into the fatal accident. Meanwhile, an Amtrak employee has filed a suit claiming the passenger operator “intentionally” crowded the […]
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — Counties in Washington state that rely on BNSF Railway trains to remove garbage have asked for congressional help in dealing with unreliable service from the railroad. The website GoSkagit.com reports that Skagit County Public Works Director Grace Kane says the county’s trash transfer station was last closed on July 11 because […]
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 […]
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. […]
EAST GALESBURG, Ill. — BNSF Railway has told customers it expects to reopen one of two tracks this morning (Thursday, Aug. 4) on its Southern Transcon main line at the site of a Tuesday derailment in East Galesburg. In an advisory to customers Wednesday evening, the railroad estimated Track 1 would reopen at 8 a.m. […]
EAST GALESBURG, Ill. — Some 30 to 40 cars of an eastbound BNSF Railway train derailed Tuesday night, according to East Galesburg’s mayor, blocking both tracks on the Chillicothe Subdivision of the railroad’s Southern Transcon mainline. The Galesburg Register-Mail reports the accident occurred about 9 p.m. Tuesday. Mayor Darrell Corbin said he was told no […]
KEYTESVILLE, Mo. — An Amtrak train attendant injured in the June 27 derailment of the Southwest Chief has become the latest person to file suit over the fatal accident, and apparently the first to name the Missouri Department of Transportation as a defendant. KSHB-TV reports attorneys representing California-based employee Iesha Coleman say the state DOT […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway and J.B. Hunt will begin serving a new intermodal terminal at the Port of Tacoma, Wash., next month. BNSF and the Northwest Seaport Alliance said the terminal will meet increased demand for intermodal service in the Seattle region. The new terminal, on 16 acres leased from the port authority, […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway’s embargo of certain types of carload traffic bound for California has been extended into August as its Southern Transcon remains congested in the Southwest. The embargo, which took effect on June 27, applies to automotive shipments as well as specific agricultural and industrial commodities. “In response to our temporary […]
Sometimes big stories hide in plain sight. One of them is the jaw-dropping way BNSF Railway has outgrown the other three big U.S. Class I railroads. Over the past two decades, BNSF has owned all of the tonnage growth on the big four U.S. systems. Its gross ton-miles are up 71% since 1996, BNSF’s first […]
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board says grade-crossing design specifications and railcar crashworthiness will be among the factors it continues to examine as it investigates the fatal grade-crossing collision and derailment involving Amtrak’s Southwest Chief. The NTSB released its preliminary report Thursday on the June 27 accident near Mendon, Mo. The preliminary report outlines […]
KEYTESVILLE, Mo. — A second wrongful death suit has been filed over the June 27 derailment of Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, this one taking aim at the company whose truck was hit at a grade crossing, triggering the derailment. The Kansas City Star reports the family of Bihn Phan, 82, of Kansas City, has filed suit […]
