DENVER — The Regional Transportation District has hired a consultant to study the feasibility of a “peak service” plan to bring rail operations to its long-delayed Northwest, or B, commuter rail line. The agency announced Wednesday that it had selected HDR Engineering Inc. to look into the possibility of offering three inbound morning trips and […]
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Two Nashville lawmakers have introduced a bill in the state legislature asking for a study of possible Amtrak service connecting Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis. The Nashville Tennessean reports state Rep. Jason Powell and state Sen. Heidi Campbell, both Democrats, are sponsoring the legislation which would direct the Tennessee Advisory Commission on […]
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WASHINGTON — The latest weekly U.S. rail traffic figures show a massive increase over the same week last year — a reflection of a week in 2021 when rail traffic experienced massive weather disruptions. Statistics from the Association of American Railroads show U.S. railroads handled 497,822 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Feb. […]
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2022 steam locomotive list spring update: It’s time for the active steam list update. Since we debuted the list last fall, we’ve gotten great feedback, updates, and added to the list. New to the list is Southern Railway 2-8-0 No. 154 at the East Tennessee tourist carrier, Three Rivers Rambler, a part of Gulf & […]
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WASHINGTON — CSX Transportation has asked for a delay in the evidentiary phase of the Surface Transportation Board hearing over Amtrak Gulf Coast service — but the public will not be informed why. A filing posted to the STB website today (Wednesday, Feb. 23) says the railroad “does not likely make this request, given the […]
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WASHINGTON — Canadian National says its proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern’s Springfield Line would enable it to divert 80,000 long-haul truck shipments to rail annually by creating a new route linking Kansas City and St. Louis with Michigan and Eastern Canada. The traffic projection — 33% more truck diversions than Canadian Pacific and KCS […]
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PHILADELPHIA — The opening of the trial of the former Amtrak engineer at the controls for the fatal 2015 derailment of Northeast Regional train No. 188 has been delayed. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the trial of Brandon Bostian, which had been scheduled to begin Tuesday, is now expected to start no sooner than Thursday […]
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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s legislature is moving to pass a law that would require Union Pacific to use yard locomotives powered “wholly by a hydrogen fuel cell or electric power” in Salt Lake City no later than Jan. 1, 2028 — despite the railroad’s contention that the bill mandates an action not yet technologically […]
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WASHINGTON — Chicago commuter operator Metra has asked the Surface Transportation Board for more time to file comments on the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, saying CP had originally “filed a false response” to Metra’s request for information, and only recently provided an incomplete set of documents Metra says it needs to assess the […]
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Winter hit Southern Ontario hard over the Feb. 19-20 weekend. A widespread blizzard whipped up snow for hundreds of miles, accumulating on rights of way and proving especially difficult on Canadian National and Southern Ontario Railway branch lines in Southwestern Ontario. CN’s north mainline is an internal short line, operated by crews formerly of the […]
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WASHINGTON — A conductor at an Illinois short line was killed when he was pulled off his train by the gate he was attempting to open while entering an industrial track, according to the final report on a November 2020 accident issued Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board. The 35-year-old conductor of the Decatur […]
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SANTA FE, N.M. — Sky Railway, the tourist railroad between Santa Fe and Lamy, N.M., on the former Santa Fe Southern, is adding an original Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Super Chief lounge car for operations beginning this spring. The Acoma, which made its debut in 1937, is the last operating car from the original […]
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