WASHINGTON — Union Pacific has been negotiating a sale of its dormant Tennessee Pass route with Rio Grande Pacific, the short line holding company that would operate a new railroad proposed to haul heavy crude oil out of Utah’s Uinta Basin. The information was accidentally disclosed in a filing posted briefly to the Surface Transportation […]
Just as rail blockades end in one country, they resume in another. On the same day Canadian protestors in Quebec ended an almost month-long blockade [see “Trains News Wire Digest for Friday, March 6“], Kansas City Southern has informed customers that protests are once again disrupting operations on Kansas City Southern de Mexico, as well […]
More Friday morning rail news: — Legislation introduced Thursday in Congress would end Amtrak’s forced arbitration policy, which bars passengers and their families from suing the passenger carrier if they injured or killed in crashes. The Washington Post reports the legislation, introduced in both houses, would do away with the policy introduced last year which […]
A Metra Milwaukee North train arrives in Deerfield, Ill., on Oct. 27, 2019. Deerfield is one of the partners with Metra in a reverse-commute pilot program on the Milwaukee North line. TRAINS: David Lassen Still more rail news for a busy Friday: — Metra’s reverse-commute pilot program on its Milwaukee District North line is exceeding […]
Friday morning rail news: — After almost four weeks, the blockade of Canadian Pacific tracks near Montreal has finally ended. This morning, Mohawks at Kahnawake, Quebec, lifted the blockade in what a spokesman called “a gesture of good faith.” The Montreal Gazette reports that one of the protesters said the blockade could resume at any […]
Rio Grande Scenic Railroad 2-6-0 Mogul type steam locomotive No. 1744 steams upgrade through Laveta Pass, Colorado, in 2007. Jim Wrinn 2-6-0 •YEARS BUILT: 1852-1929 •MANUFACTURERS: Lima, Southern Pacific, Baldwin, Pennsylvania Railroad, others •OPERATED ON: Chicago & Western Indiana, Baltimore & Ohio, Green Bay & Western, Boston & Maine, Southern Pacific, Canadian National, short lines […]
The indigenous group manning Canada’s last significant rail blockade has allowed Canadian Pacific to inspect its tracks near Montreal, and is expected to make an announcement about the future of the protest today. The Montreal Gazette reports CP employees cleared some debris from the track Wednesday afternoon after Mohawks in Kahnawake, Quebec, allowed the railroad […]
Josef Lesser, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Railroad Heritage Foundation, died earlier this week at his home in Los Angeles. After 45 years of film production experience, Lesser, working with his wife Jo Ann, founded the organization in 1999 along with Ronald Gustafson. He passionately promoted and expanded the foundation’s mission to diligently […]
WASHINGTON — Witnesses told a U.S. House of Representatives hearing Wednesday that investment in America’s rail infrastructure needs to be sharply increased. Six witnesses addressed the House Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee hearing titled, “Funding a Robust Freight and Passenger Rail Network,” addressing the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization. Video of the nearly 2½-hour hearing […]
Thursday morning rail news: — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has pulled some of its new Orange Line cars from service for a third time, in this case to deal with problems with trucks on the CRRC-built cars, MassLive.com reports. The problem is with the cars’ trucks, specifically the bolster that allows the wheelset to […]
NJ Transit trains meet in Elizabeth, N.J., in August 2019. The agency is one of several increasing cleaning and disinfecting efforts because of the coronavirus. TRAINS: David Lassen Commuter railroads and transit agencies throughout North America are stepping up cleaning efforts to address passenger concerns over the Covid-19 coronavirus spreading across the continent. Among the […]
Fundraising continues for Western Maryland No. 1309, shown during restoration work last August. Tishia Boggs CUMBERLAND, Md. — Using funds donated by Trains magazine readers, Western Maryland Scenic Railroad has picked up the 12 drive-wheel journal boxes for steam locomotive No. 1309 to replace those stolen in an employee theft two years ago. Meanwhile, the fund-raising drive launched […]
