OTTAWA — Transport Canada has announced changes to track inspection rules increasing the frequency of inspections in some areas, as well as rules governing use of automated track-inspection technology. The rules announced by Transport Minister Omar Alghabra will increase the frequency of track inspections in higher-risk areas where trains travel at greater speeds while carrying […]
FILLMORE, Calif. —California short line operator Sierra Northern Railway will be the new operator of Ventura County’s Piru to Montalvo, Calif., rail line, the Ventura County Transportation Commission has decided. By a 13-1 vote, the commission approved the contract for operation of the 30-mile, county-owned former Southern Pacific branch, to be known as the Sierra […]
ROSELLE, Ill. — Eight Chicago suburbs are forming a coalition to voice concerns over the potential increase in rail traffic through their communities if the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger is approved. The suburban Daily Herald reports Roselle, Elgin, Barlett, Hanover Park, Schaumburg, Itasca, Wood Dale and Bensenville are asking residents to submit comments to […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
