PITTSBURGH — Wabtec will modernize 330 locomotives for Norfolk Southern, upgrading D9-44CW units that are more than 20 years old into AC44C6M models, under an agreement announced Wednesday. It is the third major modernization order by NS, which will give it a fleet of more than 950 such locomotives when the work is completed in […]
Metrolink to add 26 trains to schedule
LOS ANGELES — Southern California commuter rail operator Metrolink will add 26 trains to its schedule on April 4, moving closer to restoring service to its pre-pandemic level. The schedule changes will also see new Sunday service on the commuter operator’s San Bernardino Line, and the option for Ventura County Line travelers to use four […]
News photo: Former Fillmore & Western cars bound for Pennsylvania
FILLMORE, Calif. – The dispersal of equipment from Southern California’s defunct Fillmore & Western Railway continues. Two heavyweight passenger cars from the railroad have been sold to Everett Railroad in Duncansville, Pa. The Powhatan Café Parlor car was built by Pullman for the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad; the Rancho Sespe — named for a […]
Brookville completes first trainset in Tacoma light rail order
BROOKVILLE, Pa. — Brookville Equipment Corp is preparing to send the first of five new light rail vehicles to Tacoma, Wash., for the expansion of Sound Transit’s Tacoma Link, set to open in 2023. The new equipment, 66-foot-long Liberty NXT Light Rail Vehicles, are being built under a $26.5 million contract. They will support the […]
Durango & Silverton settles lawsuits stemming from 2018 wildfire (updated)
DENVER — The Durango & Silverton has agreed to pay $20 million and adopt fire mitigation plans in a proposed settlement to a lawsuit over its role in a massive 2018 Colorado wildfire. The money will settle a suit filed in 2019 by the federal government, which claimed cinders from one of the railroad’s locomotives […]
Canadian Pacific, union agree to arbitration, ending work stoppage
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference have agreed to take their contract dispute to binding arbitration, ending the shutdown of the railroad in Canada that began at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Sunday. The agreement will allow the railroad to resume operations in Canada today (Tuesday, March 22, 2022) after a […]
Tourist railroads have a workforce issue: Analysis
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It is currently not uncommon for small businesses to be short of workers to cover basic functions. This is true in the tourist rail industry, which was drastically affected by the pandemic, where some railroads are struggling to fill jobs as their season approaches. According to the U.S. Travel Association, leisure and […]
Track defect went unrepaired before CN derailment, investigation finds
GATINEAU, Quebec — A “near-urgent” track defect was detected but not repaired several days prior to the June 2021 derailment of a Canadian National train at a remote location on the railroad’s Chetwynd Subdivision in British Columbia, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in an investigation report released Monday. Thirty-eight cars of a two-engine, […]
Union Pacific train derails in Colton, Calif.
COLTON, Calif. — Three locomotives and 12 cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Monday morning, leading to a brief fire and a spill of diesel fuel from the locomotives. The derailment occurred near the Colton Flyover, where UP’s tracks cross those of BNSF Railway. The San Bernardino Sun reports the derailment occurred shortly after […]
Tennessee derailment leads to school evacuation, disrupts commuter rail service
MT. JULIET, Tenn. — Eleven cars of a train on R.J. Corman’s Nashville & Eastern Railroad derailed Monday, briefly leading to a shelter-in-place order for a local school while a potential hazardous-material situation was investigated. WTVF-TV reports the derailment occurred near midday in Mt. Juliet, a suburb about 17 miles east of downtown Nashville. Nearby […]
Amtrak sued over fatal onboard shooting
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The family of a man shot and killed aboard an Amtrak train is suing the passenger railroad and the suspect in the killing for at least $100 million, the Kansas City Star reports. Richie Terell Aaron Jr., 30, was shot aboard the Missouri River Runner on Jan. 14, 2022. His family […]
Nine hurt in vehicle-light rail accident in East St. Louis, Ill.
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — Nine people were injured, two critically, in a collision between a St. Louis MetroLink train and a vehicle near the Washington Park station on Sunday afternoon. The driver of the vehicle and one person on the train were in critical condition, the Belleville News-Democrat reported. The car caught fire after […]