Ballard to provide more hydrogen engines for CPKC locomotive program

Green and gray cowl locomotive with blue trim

BURNABY, British Columbia — Ballard Power Systems will provide 18 additional hydrogen fuel cell engines to Canadian Pacific Kansas City for expansion of the CPKC hydrogen locomotive program, Ballard announced today (July 27). The 200-kilowatt engines are planned for delivery this year. Specific details on CPKC’s plans for their locomotive use were not immediately available. […]

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Michigan tourist railroads you must visit

black steam locomotive with large smoke plume on a clear blue sky day

Though not as vibrant as it used to be, Michigan is still synonymous with its historic automotive industry. However, the lore of railroading across the Great Lakes State is no slouch. There are many preservation movements in the form of tourist railroads, museums, and displays. From someone who called Michigan home for seven years, here […]

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Norfolk Southern, SMART-TD announce plan to improve conductor trainee program

Crew member riding on locomotive steps

Norfolk Southern and the union representing conductors will collaborate on efforts to improve the training program for conductor trainees and increase compensation for conductors who provide the training, the two parties announced Wednesday. The agreement by NS and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division (SMART-TD) comes after the Federal […]

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CSX seeks to overturn Pennsylvania community’s grade-crossing citations

CSX logo

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — Police in Chambersburg have cited CSX Transportation 49 times this year for violation of a state blocked-crossing law, the local newspaper reports. The railroad is seeking to invalidate those citations on the grounds the law is not enforceable. The Chambersburg Public Opinion reports Chambersburg police began tracking issues at Orchard Drive in […]

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Vermont Rail System repairs continue

Aerial view of landslide under railroad tracks

RUTLAND, Vt. — Vermont Rail System continues to make progress in repairs to flood damage sustained by its lines earlier this month, company president Selden Houghton told a local news site on Wednesday. “Hopefully, by next week, we’ll be 100% put back together,” Houghton said in a phone interview with the VTDigger. Houghton detailed the […]

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Amtrak highlights advances in accessibility efforts

Amtrak wheelchair lift

WASHINGTON — Amtrak has now brought 117 of its stations into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and made another 67 stations accessible under its ADA Act Stations Program, the passenger operator said Wednesday in an update on its accessibility efforts. Another 39 stations are scheduled for completion this year at a forecast cost […]

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Rodriguez sworn in as Canada’s transport minister

Smiling man with gray hair and full beard

OTTAWA, Ontario — Pablo Rodriguez has been named Canada’s Transport Minister as part of a large-scale reshuffling of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet announced Wednesday. Rodriguez replaces Omar Alghabra, who departed after announcing he would not seek reelection to Parliament [see “Canadian Transport Minister Alghabra to step down,” Trains News Wire, July 25, 2023]. Rodriguez […]

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Trains LIVE — East Broad Top

Trains LIVE — East Broad Top. Two men in black shirts.

Trains LIVE — East Broad Top — 7-26-2023 — Next to the restoration of Union Pacific No. 4014 — Big Boy — the re-birth of the East Broad Top Railroad has been one of the most talked about rail preservation events in recent years. The EBT, located around Rockhill Furnace, Pa., was built beginning in […]

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Union Pacific lowers volume forecast as traffic and earnings decline for second quarter

Freight train with two yellow locomotives with small town in distance

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific today lowered its volume outlook for the year as soft demand across its bulk, industrial, and premium business segments led to lower second quarter revenue and profits. As recently as June, UP expected its volume this year to exceed the level of industrial production, which at the time was forecast […]

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CN orders 60 more modernized diesels from Wabtec

Red, white, and black locomotive outside factory

MONTREAL and PITTSBURGH — Canadian National has placed an order with Wabtec to modernize 60 Dash-9 locomotives in CN’s existing fleet, the two companies have announced. The new order builds on a previous 50-unit order and will bring the total modernized fleet to 110 locomotives. The locomotives involved will be converted from DC to AC-powered […]

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Four operating steam locomotives to headline Indiana’s Railroad Open House

People gather around a steam locomotive during an event

HUDSON, Ind. — The Indiana Northeastern Railroad Co. is scheduled to host the first Railroad Open House at its locomotive maintenance facility in Hudson this upcoming weekend. The July 29-30 event will see more than 1,000 visitors and passengers help celebrate over 130 years of regional history. “The railroad first came to Hudson in 1893 […]

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