PECOS, Texas — The Union Pacific train involved in Wednesday’s fatal derailment was going about 68 mph before beginning an emergency brake application, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement today (Friday, Dec. 20). Maximum speed on most of UP’s Toyah Subdivision, including in Pecos, is 70 mph. Two Union Pacific crew members […]
PECOS, Texas — Two crew members have died after a Union Pacific train collided with a tractor-trailer truck on Wednesday (Dec. 18) and derailed, sending railcars into a trackside building. The second death, of an individual who had been transported to Odessa, Texas, in serious condition, occurred this morning, officials said during a press conference […]
TOPEKA, Kan. — Fourteen rail projects in Kansas will receive $13 million in funding from the state Department of Transportation’s Rail Service Improvement Program, Gov. Laura Kelly announced Wednesday (Dec. 18). The projects were selected from 22 applications for projects with a total cost of more than $33 million. Projects require a 30% match from […]
HOUSTON — Union Pacific will adjust its operations to avoid running trains during the primary arrival and departure times for students at a Houston high school, the railroad said today (Tuesday, Dec. 17). The move on a UP line adjacent to Houston’s Milby High School comes after a 15-year-old student was killed while crossing the […]
HOUSTON — The mayor of Houston says the city will build a pedestrian bridge over Union Pacific tracks where a high school student was killed earlier this week, and wants the railroad to pay for at least some of the project. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Mayor John Whitmore […]
TOPEKA, Kan. — It could cost as much as $573 million for infrastructure work to accommodate an extension of Heartland Flyer service to connect with the Southwest Chief in Newton, Kan., Kansas Department of Transportation officials said today (Dec. 11). A northward extension of the Oklahoma City-Fort Worth, Texas, train was among 69 possible routes […]
BAYTOWN, Texas — Approximately 12 cars derailed after one Union Pacific train rear-ended another on Friday night, sending two cars into a canal that feeds Houston’s water supply, KTRK-TV reports. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office reported the incident about 8 p.m. on social media, and said no injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were […]
RINGGOLD, Texas — Twenty-eight cars of a Union Pacific train derailed today near the Texas-Oklahoma state line, KFDX-TV reports. No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were involved. The incident occurred about 1 p.m. north of the community of Ringgold, the Montague County Emergency Communications Team said in a post on Facebook. Cleanup is […]
Burlington Route history begins with the Aurora Branch Railroad, chartered on Feb. 12, 1849, to build a line from Aurora, Ill., to a connection with the Galena & Chicago Union (forerunner of the Chicago & North Western) at Turner Junction (West Chicago). Service began with G&CU’s first locomotive, the Pioneer. In 1852 the road […]
WASHINGTON — A BNSF train was traveling about 46 mph when it struck a welding truck, killing a maintenance-of-way employee, in a Nov. 4 incident near New Rockford, N.D., the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary investigation report issued today (Nov. 27, 2024). A second employee in the truck was injured, treated at […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — Transit agency Trinity Metro has ordered four more FLIRT diesel multiple-unit trainsets for its TEXRail commuter rail service, Stadler announced. Delivery is expected in 2027. The new equipment will join the existing fleet of eight FLIRT (Fast Light Intercity and Regional Train) trainsets in operation since 2019 on the 27.2-mile, nine-station […]
PIERRE, S.D. — The South Dakota Railroad Board will provide $12.6 million for upgrades to rail service at the state’s largest soybeen processing plant. The South Dakota Searchlight reports that the funds, in the form of a loan to the Davison Regional Rail Authority, will be used to build 6.2 miles of rail line, 22 […]
