DAUPHIN, Pa. — A 27-year-old Kingsport, Tenn., man has been identified as the victim of a fatal accident on a Norfolk Southern project earlier this month. The Kingsport Times-News reports Kolton Parker Helbert, an employee of National Salvage & Service Corp., was killed in the Dec. 8 accident. National Salvage provides demolition and dismantlement services. […]
Section: News Wire
MTA awards contract for Penn Station Access
NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has approved a design-build contract for the Penn Station Access project, which will bring Metro-North service to Penn Station via the existing Amtrak Northeast Corridor route over Hell Gate Bridge. A joint venture of Halmar International and RailWorks has received the contract for the project, estimated to take […]
Chain-reaction vehicle crash in Wisconsin leads to derailment
POUND, Wis. — One person was killed and an unknown number of cars of an Escanaba & Lake Superior train were derailed after a chain-reaction highway accident at a grade crossing in the Town of Pound on Wednesday. WBAY-TV reports Marinette County Sheriff Jerry Sauve says the accident occurred in dense fog and involved vehicles […]
STB clears path for Uinta Basin Railway project
WASHINGTON — A Surface Transportation Board decision has cleared the way for construction of Utah’s Uinta Basin Railway. In a decision issued Wednesday, the board granted the exemption sought by the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition to construct the 85-mile line to connect oilfields in western Utah to the national rail network at a junction with […]
Letter from Brightline CEO says car modifications are easiest solution to clearance issues at station
MIAMI — Tri-Rail and Brightline are each suggesting the other party is at fault after Tri-Rail management told the agency’s board last week that the commuter agency’s trains would not clear the platform at Brightline’s MiamiCentral station [see “Tri-Rail service to Brightline’s Miami station faces clearance issues …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 13, 2021]. The […]
Greenbrier joins Rail Pulse technology consortium
LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. — Railcar manufacturer The Greenbrier Companies has joined the Rail Pulse coalition, becoming the first company beyond the five founding members to join the effort to develop GPS and telematic technology for railcar tracking and other applications. Norfolk Southern, Genesee & Wyoming, Watco, GATX Corp, and TrinityRail formed Rail Pulse in 2020. […]
Winds blamed for BNSF derailment in Oklahoma
ENID, Okla. — High winds are being cited as the cause of a derailment of a BNSF Railway intermodal train near Enid on Wednesday. KWTV reports the accident occurred about 1 p.m., and reports 21 cars carrying a total of 32 containers derailed. No injuries were reported and the cause is under investigation. The Weather […]
Progress Rail plant in Mayfield, Ky., back in operation after tornado strikes community
MAYFIELD, Ky. — With all employees safe and accounted for, Progress Rail resumed operations at its Mayfield, Ky., plant earlier this week, according to a company spokeswoman. Mayfield was one of the Western Kentucky communities heavily damaged during last week’s series of tornadoes that struck a six-state area. Eight people were killed at a candle […]
Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn to retire (second update)
WASHINGTON — Bill Flynn will retire as Amtrak CEO as of Jan. 17, 2022, with Stephen Gardner, the company’s president, becoming both president and CEO, the company announced Wednesday. Flynn became CEO in April 2020, succeeding Richard Anderson. His retirement after 21 months comes as a surprise in light of comments from Amtrak board chairman […]
Amtrak employee sues over ‘Empire Builder’ accident
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — An Amtrak on-board service attendant injured in September’s derailment of the Empire Builder has become the latest to file suit over the accident. The Billings Gazette reports Tarrick Peyton filed suit in U.S. District Court in Great Falls against Amtrak and BNSF Railway for negligence in the Sept. 25 accident that killed […]
News Photos: Toaster, California style
Days after Amtrak wrapped one of its ACS64 locomotives in the paint scheme once worn by its AEM7s, Bay Area commuter operator Caltrain has unveiled a repainted AEM7 in a variant of the red, black, and white scheme worn by its MP36 diesels. The ex-Amtrak unit will be used to test the Caltrain catenary system, […]
DOT-FRA filing in Gulf Coast case offers detailed criticism of CSX-NS arguments
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Railroad Administration call for the Surface Transportation Board to order the restoration of Amtrak service along the Gulf Coast — and offer detailed criticism of arguments by CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern against that service — in a Tuesday filing with the Surface Transportation Board. The […]
