Wednesday afternoon rail news in brief: Severe weather leads to UP derailment in Texas (updated) Union Pacific has informed customers that its route between Fort Worth, Texas, and El Paso has been disrupted by a derailment near Colorado City, Texas, caused by “a severe-wind weather event.” It is warning that shipments through the area could […]
CHICAGO — Canadian National has won federal regulatory approval to double track more than four miles of its former Elgin, Joliet & Eastern route near Elgin, Ill., a project the railroad says will eliminate a chokepoint and improve the flow of rail traffic in and around Chicago. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a […]
Tuesday morning rail news in brief: Virgin Trains Las Vegas project gets extension to sell bonds The Virgin Trains USA subsidiary seeking to build a high speed rail line between Southern California and Las Vegas has received a five-month extension on its efforts to sell $3.25 billion in private activity bonds to help fund the […]
Rail preservation and museum news in brief: Work begins on CN 6060 Work has begun to restore Canadian National No. 6060, the semi-streamlined 4-8-2 which had a heralded excursion career beginning in 1972 but has been inactive since 2011 and stored in Stetler, Alberta. The Rocky Mountain Rail Society is working to restore the locomotive, […]
Tuesday afternoon rail news: Caltrans, high speed project reach agreement on use of state-owned right-of-way The California Department of Transportation and Xpress West, the Virgin Trains USA/Brightline subsidiary planning to build a high speed rail line between Southern California and Las Vegas, Nev., have reached agreement on a lease allowing the rail line to build […]
PHILADELPHIA — Two days of an introductory course does not a signal and train control expert make. Then again, it’s not supposed to. When Trains attended a 2016 University of Wisconsin-Madison Engineering Professional Development course in Philadelphia on the topic, this editor-author had delusions of learning about the latest in positive train control tech. Instead, […]
WASHINGTON — Sixteen U.S. Senators have pushed back against Amtrak’s plan to reduce 12 daily long-distance trains to triweekly departures and cut its workforce by 20%. In three separate letters to President and CEO William Flynn sent late last week, the lawmakers strongly hinted they were unwilling to grant the company’s request for an additional […]
BILLERICA, Mass. — New England regional Pan Am Railways is for sale. The privately held company, owned by 78-year-old Tim Mellon and other investors, has enlisted BMO Financial Group to assist with a potential sale transaction, according to multiple railroad industry sources. Pan Am officials did not respond to a request for comment. Industry observers […]
Monday morning rail news in brief: NJ Transit survey shows essential workers relied on service A survey of NJ Transit riders who used the service at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic shows that essential workers relied on the system while the majority of commuter remained at home. NJ.com reports that of the 88% of […]
Railroads have gained regulatory approval to haul liquified natural gas in tank cars. Now the questions are how quickly will an LNG market develop and how big will it be? Controversial new federal regulations governing the movement of LNG by rail are scheduled to go into effect next month. Previously LNG shipments required special permits […]
United States Steel Corp., which is struggling amid the steep downturn in demand, is poised to sell the remaining railroads held by its Transtar subsidiary, Trains News Wire has learned. Multiple rail industry sources say the steelmaker plans to put the Transtar lines up for sale soon. A U.S. Steel spokeswoman said the company does […]
Thursday morning commuter rail news: Tri-Rail adding two round trips to schedule South Florida’s Tri-Rail will add to its commuter rail schedule as of Monday, June 29, adding two additional round trips to its current schedule of 11 trains in each direction. Weekend service will remain at six round trips. South Florida Regional Transportation Authority […]
