BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Seeing “significant opportunities to grow,” independent infrastructure manager Ancala and Arkadia Rail Partners have formed Phoenix Rail following the acquisition of short line rail company Lehigh Valley Rail Management. Terms were not disclosed. Lehigh Valley Rail Management owns and operates a 61-mile freight rail network and is headquartered in Bethlehem, Pa., where […]
CRUM, W.Va. — A rockslide led to the derailment of 18 cars of a Norfolk Southern train on Friday (Jan. 31, 2025) near the town of Crum, the railroad has announced. The incident occurred about 10 p.m., according to WVMetroNews.com. WOWK-TV reports one of the derailed cars carried a hazardous substance, toluene, but railroad spokeswoman […]
A stray New Haven RR FL9 didn’t add up when the commuter locomotive encountered a Seaboard System equipment detector. When I entered engine service on the Seaboard Coast Line in 1979, the railroad was replacing many of its first generation locomotives, mostly aging Alcos and Electro-Motive Division road switchers. These locomotives had been ideally suited […]
DERBY, England — Rolling stock manufacturer Alstom was forced to halt ticket sales for an event celebrating the 200th anniversary of railroading this week because the system handling ticketing was overwhelmed by demand from around the world. The company is planning to open its Derby Litchurch Lane Works to the public for the first time […]
MONCTON, New Brunswick — A Moncton developer and former owner of a rail equipment company owes the province of New Brunswick almost Ca$5 million as a result of a failed effort to refurbish rolling stock for VIA Rail Canada, the CBC reports. Court of King’s Bench Justice Thomas Christie ruled earlier this month that developer […]
WASHINGTON — Former New York congressman Marc Molinaro is set to be named as head of the Federal Transit Administration, the New York Times reports. Molinaro has been offered the job by the Trump administration and has accepted it, according to the Times, although the nomination has not yet been announced. The position will require […]
ATLANTA — The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority on Thursday offered the first public look at its new Stadler-built MARTA trainsets, part of a $646 million order to replace the agency’s entire rail fleet. The first CQ400 trainset is one of 56 trainsets ordered in November 2019. The first of the 224 cars were delivered […]
MEXICO CITY — Construction of two passenger rail lines — Mexico City-Querétaro and Mexico City-Pachuca — will begin in April, the Mexican government’s Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation (SICT) announced this week. The announcement confirmed a portion of plans announced in November by President Claudia Sheinbaum, who had previously said three routes would see […]
A newly tooled FMC 5,347-cubic-foot capacity 50-foot boxcar has joined the Athearn HO scale freight car lineup. The injection-molded plastic model has railroad-specific doors; many separate, factory-applied details; and body-mounted McHenry scale couplers. Prototype history FMC Corp. produced the 5,347-cubic-foot capacity boxcar at its plant in Portland, Ore., from the late 1970s to the early […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National experienced a series of shocks to the system last year, and the fourth quarter was no exception: Profits and revenue declined as disruptive port work stoppages and a cold snap put a lid on traffic volumes. “Now, 2024 was clearly not what we expected and certainly not what we planned,” CEO […]
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers has reached a tentative five-year agreement with the National Carriers Conference Committee, the bargaining group for major railroads, the two sides have announced. The union said terms are comparable to those in separate deals it has ratified with BNSF Railway and CSX Transportation, including a wage increase compounded to […]
WASHINGTON — A Union Pacific Z-train was moving at 64 mph when it collided with a 45.5-ton piece of heavy equipment on a grade crossing in Pecos, Texas, last month, the National Transportation Safety Board said today. The Dec. 18 wreck fatally injured the train’s two crew members, engineer Clay Burt and conductor Phillip Araujo. […]
