WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board says it will focus on factors including passenger car crashworthiness and survival factors as part of its ongoing investigation of the fatal Sept. 25 derailment of the Empire Builder near Joplin, Mont. In a preliminary report released Tuesday, the NTSB also said it would focus on track and […]
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Alaska Railroad is joining in an effort to acquire $100 million in federal infrastructure funding to build a new 18-mile spur to serve a liquefied natural gas plant near Anchorage. The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reports the Matanuska Susitna Borough, Fairbanks North Star Borough, and Interior Gas Utility are also part of […]
CHICAGO — Metra is seeking review of a September federal court ruling that Union Pacific is not obligated to continue operating rail service for the Chicago-area commuter operator. The Cook County Record reports Metra is arguing U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso committed a “manifest injustice” in a September ruling that UP has no common-carrier obligation […]
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Telling employees it does not have a choice because of a federal executive order, the Alaska Railroad has announced a vaccine requirement for its employees and set a Dec. 8 deadline for workers to be fully vaccinated. The website Must Read Alaska has published a letter to railroad employees from CEO Bill O’Leary […]
LOS ANGELES — Union Pacific is launching an incentive program as part of the effort to address supply chain congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, offering a $60 refund on container fees on weekends for containers in-gated to its Intermodal Container Transfer Facility in Long Beach, Calif. The monetary carrot from […]
KANSAS CITY — Kansas City Southern will collaborate on a vehicle distribution center in Central Mexico capable of handling up to 10,000 vehicles when fully built out, the railroad has announced. The facility will handle both inbound and outbound vehicle traffic. KCS will collaborate with Suministros Industriales Potosinos SA de CV (SIPSA) and TransDevelopment Group […]
CHICAGO — Anacostia Rail Holdings, operator of railroads including Pacific Harbor Line, New York & Atlantic, and the Chicago South Shore & South Bend, has created an advisory board to assist the company in developing and achieving strategic objectives. Members of the board will be: — Ronald Batory, former president of the Belt Railway of […]
Product news Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. Here are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of October 28, 2021. HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division F7A and F7B diesel […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern is donating the archives of predecessor Southern Railway to the Atlanta History Center as NS prepares to mark the opening of its new Atlanta headquarters. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports the archives include hundreds of thousands of pages of correspondence, more than 20,000 photographs, reports, plans, and minute books. The donation […]
LOS ANGELES — BNSF will extend a weekend incentive program it has been offering at two LA-area intermodal facilities as part of ongoing efforts to address congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The program introduced in September, offering a $50 incentive for oceangoing containers that arrive at its Hobart and Commerce […]
PHILADELPHIA — A union representing about 5,000 employees of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has authorized a strike if current contract negotiations break down. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports about 1,000 members of Transport Workers Union Local 234, the largest union for SEPTA employees, authorized the strike on a voice vote Sunday morning. The union’s current […]
CHICAGO — Norfolk Southern will require its workers to be vaccinated for COVID-19, and has filed a lawsuit in an effort to block legal action by unions representing employees. Reuters reports the railroad filed the suit in a federal court in Chicago on Thursday, arguing that union objection to the mandate must be addressed through […]
