CHICAGO — Food service on Amtrak’s long-distance trains has become such an exercise in repetition that something as modest as the cold meal service on the Portland, Ore., section of the Empire Builder is both a notable and welcome respite. That’s one aspect of the current state of onboard dining, which suggests both immediate and […]
Digest: CSX train derails in Harlan County, Ky.
More Thursday morning rail news: CSX train hits boulder, derails in Kentucky A CSX Transportation train has derailed in Harlan County, Ky., after striking a boulder that fell from a cliff face across an adjacent highway, WKYT-TV reports. The rockfall and derailment has closed State Route 2007 between Wallins and Coldiron, Ky. The derailment occurred […]
Digest: Museum acquires Ontario Northland caboose
Thursday morning rail preservation news: Ontario Northland caboose goes to Timmons, Ont., museum A vintage Ontario Northland Railway caboose is now on display at the Timmins, Ontario, Museum, which is on the site of a former Ontario Northland station. CTV News reports the caboose was made available by longtime owner Paul Woodward of Timmins, who […]
Digest: Norfolk Southern plans mechanical department furloughs
More Thursday morning rail news: NS will furlough mechanical department employees, offers no details on number or locations Norfolk Southern will be furloughing mechanical department employees at multiple locations across its system, WSLS-TV reports. In a statement, the railroad did not indicate the locations or number of employees to be affected, but said the move […]
NJ Transit rail service shut down by storm; other systems experiencing delays, cancellations
NJ Transit rail service remains suspended as a result of the winter storm currently hitting the Northeast, but other major commuter rail services continue to operate in some form as of Thursday morning. NJ Transit suspended all commuter rail operations as of 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and they remain halted, along with Newark and Hudson-Bergen light […]
Intermodal, grain strong, but carloads still down in latest rail traffic stats
WASHINGTON — The continued upswing in grain traffic is helping reduce the drop in U.S. carload rail traffic, while intermodal strength continues to lift overall volume above 2019 levels in the latest weekly statistics released by the Association of American Railroads. For the week ending Dec. 12, the total of 238,193 carloads was 2.2% below […]
News Photo: Dual power on the Northeast Corridor
While Amtrak has cancelled a number of trains in the Northeast as it deals with a major storm, it is also taking extra precautions with those trains that are operating. This morning in Wilmington, Del., train No. 170 had P42 diesel No. 90 operating behind ACS-64 electric No. 619 as a backup in case of […]
News Photo: No one injured in CSX derailment caused by rock slide
No injuries resulted when a CSX coal train derailed after striking a rockslide in the Harlan County community Wallins Creek, Ky. Two locomotives and eight cars derailed. WYMT-TV quotes CSX spokeswoman Cindy Schild as saying the derailment occurred about 2:09 a.m., and no leaks or spills into waterways occurred. A state transportation department spokesman said […]
Digest: Amtrak inspector general expresses concern over elements of PTC implementation
Wednesday morning rail news: Amtrak Office of Inspector General reports issues with PTC implementation A report from Amtrak’s Office of Inspector General says the passenger railroad expects to achieve positive train control interoperability by the Dec. 31, 2020, deadline, but can take steps to better ensure its systems are reliable, and that the company faces […]
Buttigieg, Transportation Secretary nominee, faced local rail issues as South Bend mayor
Buttigieg served for eight years as mayor of South Bend, Ind., a city of about 100,000, crisscrossed by two busy freight railroads, a stop on two Amtrak long-distance routes and the eastern terminus of a commuter train to downtown Chicago. Biden’s onetime rival for the nomination supported a project to add 16.9 miles of double […]
Digest: Canadian firm develops transit system that’s part bus, part light rail
Wednesday morning transit and commuter rail news: Canadian firm announces ‘ultra-light rail’ system that’s part bus, part light rail A Canadian transit firm has announced development of a system it calls “Ultra-Light Rail Transit,” which uses electric buses on rails and, the company says, can offer the performance of light rail transit at the price […]
Cumbres & Toltec to convert locomotive to oil firing
CHAMA, N.M. — The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad will convert one of its locomotives to oil firing, a move the railroad says is to “ensure it is prepared to safely function in a continually evolving operating environment.” The conversion of K-36 2-8-2 No. 489, a 1925 Baldwin product, from coal to oil is to […]