Trackage rights: Same line, two railroads

Three red and yellow diesel locomotives exit a tunnel and round a curve in hilly country

Trackage rights are one of the main reasons you may see a train from one company operating on tracks belonging to another company. Geography, for example, played a role in the long-standing agreement governing Union Pacific’s crossing of California’s Tehachapi Mountains. When this line was built by the then-Southern Pacific, there was no room for […]

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CSX grain train derails in Ohio

CSX logo

WEST MANSFIELD, Ohio — Twenty-eight cars of a CSX train carrying grain derailed Saturday afternoon (June 1), the Mercer County Outlook reports, leading to the closure of an adjacent county road. No injuries were reported in the derailment that occurred about 5:15 p.m. The Logan County Sheriff’s Office reported County Road 142 was closed Saturday […]

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TSB to investigate CN derailment in Alberta

Canadian National logo

HINTON, Alberta — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada will investigate a Canadian National Railway derailment that occurred today (Saturday, June 1) west of Edmonton, Global News reports. TSB spokesman Liam MacDonald said an estimated 20 cars were involved in the derailment that occurred about 5:30 a.m. in Hinton, 51 miles east of Jasper on […]

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Rail safety experts question conclusions of long-train derailment study

Derailed cars on curve leading onto bridge

Railroad safety experts are questioning the conclusions of a study released this week that found that a 200-car train is 24% more likely to derail than a 50-car train. The study, by researchers from Brigham Young University, Georgetown University, and Virginia Tech, analyzed Federal Railroad Administration rail equipment accident data from 2013 through 2022. The […]

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Pacific Surfliner adds service for X Games in Ventura

Bilevel passenger car wrapped with advertising for X Games sporting event

VENTURA, Calif. — For the second straight year, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner is adding service to Ventura while the city hosts the X Games sporting competition. The additional trains will run June 28-30; during the same period, reservations will be required on the Surfliners because of anticipated additional ridership, and the Rail 2 Rail and Metrolink […]

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Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad CEO announces retirement

Man sitting in passenger car

PENINSULA, Ohio — Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad President and CEO Joe Mazur will retire from the heritage railroad as of Sept. 30, the railroad announced Thursday. Mazur joined the railroad in March 2017 following a career in arena management and as President/CEO of International Soap Box Derby, the Akron, Ohio, organization where he had worked […]

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News photo: Mexico, meet La Empresa

Steam engine on bridge

LAREDO, Texas — The Final Spike Steam Tour has entered the third country on its itinerary. This morning, the train celebrating the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger crossed into Mexico, a historic moment underscoring the three-nation linkage created by the CPKC merger and marking the first trip into that country for CP 4-6-4 No. 2816. […]

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CN expands firefighting fleet with addition of two improved train sets

MONTREAL — Canadian National has beefed up its ability to battle wildfires with the addition of two new firefighting trains. The Trident and Neptune trains, unveiled yesterday, will join CN’s original firefighting train, Poseidon, in combating fires along the railway’s right of way, particularly in isolated areas. “Our priority is to maintain the integrity of […]

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