LOS ANGELES — Metrolink and CEO Darren Kettle have agreed to a five-year contract extension, the commuter rail operator announced on Thursday. The Metrolink board of directors unanimously agreed to the extension, which runs through September 2029, on May 24. Kettle, formerly executive director of the Ventura County Transportation Commission — one of the five […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad receives grant to restore track to operation
ELBE, Wash. — The Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad has received a $50,000 grant from the Port of Tacoma Local Economic Development Investment Fund for track expansion and restoration between Elbe and New Reliance, Wash., the railroad has announced. The 5.5-mile project will almost double the Mt. Rainier’s operable mileage and move it closer to its […]
Toronto transit workers say they will walk out at midnight
TORONTO — The union representing Toronto Transit Commission workers said its members will walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. Friday after seeing “no progress” in negotiations on a new contract today (Thursday, June 6). However, a subsequent union update has left some hope a strike could be averted. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 represents […]
New York subway track worker in intensive care after being struck by train
NEW YORK — A Metropolitan Transportation Authority employee is in intensive care at a Brooklyn hospital after being struck by a subway train early today (Thursday, June 6). WABC-TV reports the 64-year-old man, serving as a flagger for a group of four other workers performing track inspections, was hit by an out-of-service northbound F train […]
Teamsters Canada turns down CN offer for binding arbitration
MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway said today that it had formally offered binding arbitration to the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference in an effort to reach a new contract. The labor union turned down the offer, made earlier this week, CN said in an update on the dispute between the railroad and its operating crews. CPKC […]
BNSF train moving molten sulfur derails in Washington state
CUSTER, Wash. — No injuries were reported and no spills resulted after a BNSF train transporting molten sulfur derailed late Tuesday night, the Bellingham Herald reports. The derailment occurred about 10:45 p.m. near Custer, 14 miles north of Bellingham, Wash., on BNSF’s Bellingham Subdivision, and about 100 miles north of Seattle. Six cars derailed. The […]
Toronto could face transit strike on Friday
TORONTO — Almost 12,000 Toronto Transit Commission employees, including streetcar and subway operators and bus drivers, could go on strike at 12:01 a.m. Friday — the first such walkout since 2008, Global News reports. It would be the first strike since a 2011 law blocking strikes was struck down in court. That law had designed […]
Woman struck, killed by CPKC steam tour train in Mexico (updated)
NOPALA DE VILLAGRAN, Mexico — A 29-year-old woman was struck and killed today while trying to take a photo during the passage of CPKC’s Final Spike Steam Tour train in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, according to multiple media reports. The news site Debate reports that the woman was standing next to the tracks trying […]
Metrolink introduces ‘smart crossing’ technology at Orange County grade crossing
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. — Southern California commuter rail operator Metrolink has debuted new “smart crossing” technology at a San Juan Capistrano grade crossing, seeking to eliminate the activation of crossing gates when a train approaches a station and stops before reaching the crossing. The technology, known as a Wireless Crossing Nearside Station Stop, was made […]
Ontario awards three contracts to prepare for return of Northlander service
BRACEBRIDGE, Ontario — The Ontario government has awarded three contracts for projects related to its plan to restore passenger service between Toronto and Timmons, Ont., according to a recent announcement. The contracts are for design and construction of nine new station shelters; track upgrades; and improved warning systems. Enseicom Inc. received the ctonract for the […]
Gotthard Base Tunnel repairs on pace for September reopening
FAIDO, Switzerland — Repairs to the Gotthard Base Tunnel remain on pace for a full reopening in September, according to a project update on the Swiss Federal Railways website. The lane-change gate at the Faido multifunction point — which seals off the two bores of the tunnel at a crossover, to prevent the spread of […]
Railroads among recipients of Canadian funding for digital infrastructure projects
HAMILTON, Ontario — Canadian National Railway, the Southern Railway of British Columbia, and a consortium including several short lines in Saskatchewan and Alberta are among recipients of up to C$51.2 in funding from the Canadian government for digital infrastructure projects under the National Trade Corridors Fund. A total of 19 projects will receive funding, announced […]