More Tuesday morning rail news: OmniTRAX names Piacente as new CEO Short line and transportation company OmniTRAX has named Dean Piacente as its new CEO, effective Feb. 1. Piacente has more than 20 years’ experience as a commercial executive at CSX Transportation, and brings more than 30 years of financial planning, analysis, and expertise in […]
Latest filings with STB show significant differences remain in Amtrak, Metra dispute
WASHINGTON — Amtrak and Metra have filed briefs with the Surface Transportation Board on the remaining issues in their long-running dispute over Metra’s lease at Amtrak-owned Chicago Union Station, with Amtrak asking the board to decide the remaining areas of disagreement so appropriate compensation can be decided, while Metra suggests the disagreements can still be […]
Digest: South Shore to lease gallery cars from Metra
Tuesday morning rail news: South Shore to lease cars from Metra to handle planned service increase The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District will lease 26 bilevel gallery cars from Metra to handle the increased South Shore Line commuter service planned under the Double Track and West Lake Corridor expansion projects. The Times of Northwest Indiana […]
Oberman named as STB chairman (corrected)
President Joe Biden has designated Martin Oberman as chairman of the Surface Transportation Board. Oberman, who joined the board in January 2019, is current serving his first five-year term on the board, which is slated to expire Dec. 31, 2023. A former Chicago city council alderman, he was chairman of Metra’s board from 2014 to […]
New Siemens ‘Venture’ cars test in Michigan
NILES, Mich. – The new Siemens Venture cars for Amtrak Midwest service made their first test run on Monday, operating from Chicago to Pontiac, Mich., on the schedule of Wolverine Service train No. 350, suspended since March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The trainset, with four of the new coaches separated by former heritage sleeper […]
NJ Transit CEO discusses agency’s turnaround (corrected)
NEWARK, N.J. — “It’s NJ Transit’s 3rd summer of hell,” read an August 2019 headline on NJ.com, a New Jersey local news website. For years, commuters endured overcrowded trains, late trains, canceled trains, and creaky 40-year-old Arrow III electric multiple-unit cars. Frustration reached a boiling point, with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy feeling the heat. […]
Digest: New agreement allows BNSF Bismarck bridge project to move forward
Still more Monday morning rail news: New agreement allows BNSF Bismarck bridge project to move forward without final decision on current bridge BNSF Railway’s long-running effort to replace its 138-year-old Bismarck-Mandan Rail Bridge over the Missouri River can continue to move forward after a new agreement between the railroad, the U.S. Coast Guard, and […]
Digest: Metra to add trains to Rock Island schedule on Feb. 1
Monday morning rail news: Metra to add trains on Rock Island line Metra is introducing a new schedule on its Rock Island District as of Monday, Feb. 1, including new morning and evening rush-hour trains, new express service, and additional midday trains. Other trains have been renumbered or had schedule adjustments. Among the additions […]
Digest: BNSF train derails in Arizona, prompting lengthy ‘Southwest Chief’ delay
More Monday morning rail news: BNSF intermodal train derails in Arizona, stopping Southwest Chief No injuries were reported when a BNSF intermodal train derailed Sunday afternoon near Joseph City, Ariz., KPHO-TV reports. Photos show several double-stack well cars off the tracks, with containers overturned. The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office says the accident was reported about 1 […]
Monticello, Ill., museum offers throttle time on rare RS1325 (corrected link)
MONTICELLO, Ill. — The Monticello Railway Museum is offering aa chance to operate its recently acquired former Chicago & Illinois Midland RS1325 No. 31, one of just two such locomotives built. The museum is selling tickets for an hour of throttle time, with participants running the locomotive under direction of a museum locomotive engineer. Those […]
Digest: Conservation groups ask STB for full environmental review of Tennessee Pass revival
Monday midday rail news: Conservation groups ask for full environmental review before Tennessee Pass operations can resume Conservation group American Whitewater, joined by seven other organizations and almost 700 individuals, have asked the Surface Transportation Board to require a full Environmental Impact Statement for the resumption of rail service on Tennessee Pass. The Friday filing asks the […]
Canadian National’s proposed Toronto-area intermodal terminal wins government approval
OTTAWA – Canadian environmental officials have given Canadian National a green light for the $250 million intermodal terminal it aims to build outside of Toronto. The minister of environment and climate change last week announced the government’s decision to approve the Milton Logistics Hub, subject to 325 environmental conditions that would make it the most […]