Transit agencies in the Northeast have begun adjusting service plans for Saturday in expectation of a major snowstorm forecast to hit the area. As of midafternoon Friday, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is mostly planning normal Saturday operations. Exceptions include the Mattapan Trolley, which will be replaced by shuttle buses; the Green Line’s D Branch, […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has denied the Association of American Railroads’ request to extend the schedule for consideration of its proposed reciprocal switching regulations, meaning a hearing on the subject remains set for March 15. The AAR had asked for a 75-day continuance of the schedule, or, as an alternative, moving the deadline […]
WASHINGTON — With a major winter storm predicted, Amtrak has cancelled all service on Saturday, Jan. 29, between New York and Boston, as well as all New Haven-Springfield, Mass., shuttles and the Vermonter. Forecasts call for up to 2 feet of snowfall for the Boston area and lesser but uncertain amounts further south through Rhode […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway’s plans to institute a new attendance policy while a new labor agreement is under negotiation is contrary to the terms of the Railway Labor Act, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen argues in a new court filing. The Thursday filing with the U.S. District Court in Fort Worth […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific will purchase 20 battery-electric locomotives to test in yard service, the largest commitment to date for the technology by any rail operator. In separate announcements Friday, the railroad announced purchase of 10 Wabtec FLXdrive locomotives and 10 of Progress Rail’s EMD Joule locomotives. The railroad said the cost of the […]
Canadian National shocked the railroad world this week with the selection of Tracy Robinson, a Canadian energy executive and former Canadian Pacific official, as its next CEO. The surprise came mostly from the fact that she is not a marquee name in railroad circles and has been out of the industry for eight years. But […]
MONTREAL — Commuter rail operator Exo has ordered 10 Siemens Charger locomotives to replace its older locomotives with more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly motive power. “We are excited to partner with Exo and look forward to working with them to modernize their fleet with the latest in sustainable and intelligent rail technology. Our industry leading […]
Union Pacific has earned a 100% score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index, earning it a place on the foundation’s “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality list, the railroad has announced. Union Pacific was the only railroad to earn a 100% score. Amtrak and BNSF Railway also scored well, at 90% […]
LOS ANGELES — The LA Metro board of directors on Thursday approved construction of a 19.3-mile light rail line, following a former Pacific Electric route, to connect downtown Los Angeles to the southeast LA County city of Artesia. The Los Angeles Daily News reports the new line, called the West Santa Ana Branch, will cost […]
ST. PAUL, Minn. — With one senator calling the project “a boondoggle of historic proportions,” a bipartisan group of Minnesota state legislators is calling for an audit of a light rail project that has soared in cost and is now projected to open four years late. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports the legislators are calling […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority board of directors has approved a staff plan for a one-time transfer of $500 million from its operating budget to its capital budget for projects including a collision-avoidance system on the rapid transit Green Line and Automatic Train Control on the MBTA commuter rail system. CommonWealth Magazine reports […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has installed five hybrid overhead gantry cranes at intermodal terminals in Chicago and Atlanta, part of an ongoing effort to replace existing cranes with hybrid or electric-powered units across its network over the next decade. The 60-foot-tall cranes are diesel-electric hybrids, which use battery power in normal use and battery and […]
