SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A group of California state legislators are asking the U.S. Department of Transportation to reconsider a requirement for catenary electrification for the state’s high speed rail system, seeking the option to use battery or fuel-cell power to avoid the expense of stringing overhead power lines. The Los Angeles Times reports state Assembly […]
LOS ANGELES — Darren Kettle, currently executive director of the Ventura County Transportation Commission, has been named as new CEO of LA-area commuter rail operator Metrolink. Kettle succeeds Stephanie Wiggins, who in June became CEO of L.A. Metro, which oversees bus and light rail operations in the LA area and is one of the five […]
RICHMOND, Va. — Thirteen cars of a CSX Transportation coal train derailed in Richmond on Friday afternoon, reportedly sending some of the coal into the nearby James River. WRIC-TV reported the derailment occurred about 1:30 p.m. There were no injuries. Initial reports said the waterway was not affected, but drone footage on Saturday showed coal […]
LOS ANGELES — Union Pacific will resume international container shipments to Chicago from the West Coast at the end of its current seven-day suspension of such service, CEO Lance Fritz told Reuters on Thursday. “We’re starting to see containers clear, so I anticipate in the seven-day period … we should get back down to a […]
PORT CLINTON, Pa. — The Reading & Northern Railroad has purchased 11 passenger cars from the fleet formerly owned by the San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad, the Colorado operation of bankrupt Iowa Pacific Holdings. Among the cars bought at auction are several notables, including the former Southern Railway steam program open-air coach Lookout Mountain […]
DEL MAR, Calif. — The North County Transit District has reached agreement with the city of Del Mar and the California Coastal Commission on plans for safety fencing on the rail line along the Del Mar bluffs, postponing and perhaps ending the NCTD’s request for action by the Surface Transportation Board. The San Diego Union-Tribune […]
TREGO, Wis. — The kitchen of the car Huckleberry Finn, being converted to a full dining car, is a focal point as work continues on the restoration of the Mark Twain Zephyr at the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad. During work on Thursday, July 22, lead carpenter Bob Heil displayed a stainless steel butter knife found […]
BELLEVUE, Ohio — Two Nickel Plate Railroad 2-8-4 locomotives will be reunited for a series of special events Sept. 24 to Oct. 3, with the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society and Mad River & NKP Museum combining for the “Berkshires in Bellevue” event. Tickets will go on sale July 28 for events featuring the Fort […]
WASHINGTON — Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman today asked the Class I railroads to provide information on congestion at inland intermodal terminals, where international containers are stacking up faster than customers can receive them. “I am particularly concerned about significant increases in container congestion at key U.S. terminals, and substantial charges being levied by […]
Spurred by the growth in home delivery during the pandemic, the desire by legislators to reduce goods vehicle use in cities, and a shortage of drivers in several countries, rail operators in Britain, Italy, and Germany are looking at offering new services with rebuilt equipment for parcels and light freight. Two different projects in the […]
The railroad industry’s chickens have come home to roost. Before he retired in 2019, BNSF Railway Executive Chairman Matt Rose warned that the other Class I railroads were inviting regulatory risk by adopting Precision Scheduled Railroading, reducing service, and demarketing some types of traffic in pursuit of higher profits. “We have this common-carrier obligation to […]
CICERO, Ill. — The Town of Cicero is suing BNSF Railway, which operates a major intermodal rail yard in the facility, claiming the railroad has intentionally acted to ensure rainwater runs off its property into the community — after the railroad sued the city over a stormwater ordinance the railroad says is “discriminatory and unlawful.” […]
