WASHINGTON — A U.S. Senator who has twice before introduced legislation to end forced-arbitration agreements — once in all cases, and once specifically regarding Amtrak — is part of a new legislative effort aimed at the arbitration policy that is part of Amtrak ticket purchases. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) has led introduction of a Senate […]
LOS ANGELES — Union Pacific, the Port of Long Beach, and the Utah Inland Port Authority have announced the launch of direct rail service between the Long Beach and Utah facilities to help address ongoing port congestion. The executive directors of the two facilities, Mario Cordero of Long Beach and Jack Hedge of the Utah […]
WASHINGTON — Continuing a pattern that now extends over 10 weeks, U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Oct. 23 showed an overall decrease from the same week a year earlier, with intermodal traffic down and carload moves up. The latest figures from the Association of American Railroads have overall traffic at 510,762 carloads and […]
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern CEO Jim Squires warned today that the railroad’s train crew shortages may be exacerbated by the federal COVID-19 vaccination mandate that takes effect on Dec. 8. Like CSX Transportation, NS is experiencing higher than normal attrition among its train crews and is having trouble hiring new conductors due to the […]
ANCHORAGE — The Alaska Railroad has rescinded its mandate for employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccination following a Tuesday vote by the state-owned railroad’s board of directors. The Anchorage Daily News reports the board voted unanimously to rescind the mandate, announced Friday in an email from CEO Bill O’Leary to employees [see “Alaska Railroad to […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National has named Jo-ann dePass Olsovsky to its board of directors, effective immediately. Olsovsky, 56, is executive vice president and chief information officer at Salesforce, and previously spent 12 years at BNSF Railway as senior vice president and chief information officer. Her BNSF experience included overseeing the railroad’s drone inspection operations for […]
DULUTH, Minn. — Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway 2-8-0 No. 332 has passed a hydrostatic boiler test at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum following boiler repairs. Museum Executive Director Ken Buehler told Trains News Wire the test last week was a success, and the Federal Railroad Administration has now signed off on repairs to […]
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern set third-quarter records for revenue, profits, and operating ratio despite flat traffic volume, but a shortage of train crews and ongoing supply chain issues had an impact on the railroad’s service levels. Operating income surged 21%, to $1.1 billion, as revenue grew 14%, to $2.9 billion, NS reported today. Earnings per […]
Get a look at the Lionel Area 51 set (no. 2123160)! Chris Raines of RBP Trains on YouTube reviews this spooky and fun O gauge train outfit. First is a close look at the GE “ET44” Tier 4 Bluetooth-controlled locomotive and the array of cars. Then Chris takes it for a spin on his great […]
MIAMI — In what company President Patrick Goddard characterizes as “one of the most significant innovations in multimodal mobility,” Florida passenger rail operator Brightline is offering travelers the ability to arrange travel from their point of origin to their ultimate destination, not just buy a train ticket. The first stage of this door-to-door travel will […]
GATINEAU, Quebec — Fatigue on the part of a signal maintainer may have been a factor in a December 2020 collision between a VIA Rail Canada passenger train and a Canadian National hi-rail vehicle, according to a Transportation Safety Board of Canada report released Tuesday. In the Dec. 6, 2020, incident at Les Cédres, Quebec, […]
WASHINGTON — DC Metrorail officials were aware of axle defects in two cars that remained in service after an Oct. 12 derailment, the Washington Post reports, with the cars withdrawn only when the independent agency that reviews Metrorail ordered those cars and all other 7000-series vehicles out of service. The information was reported at a […]
