Tuesday morning rail news: — Union Pacific and the city of Palestine, Texas, have been ordered to go to mediation over UP’s efforts to do away with a 150-year-old agreement requiring the railroad to keep a set number of jobs in the community. The Palestine Herald-Press reports a federal court is requiring the sites to […]
Government officials and an indigenous group in British Columbia have reached a tentative deal on a gas pipeline, the subject of protests which led to blockades of rail lines across Canada. While one blockade remains in place, Canadian National has begun recalling workers laid off during the protests, while VIA Rail Canada expects to restore […]
As one rail blockade remains in place in Canada, the political and financial toll of the three-week disruption to rail transportation continues. A poll taken in the wake of Canada’s series of rail blockades finds that only 27% of those responding feel Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has handled the situation well, while 45% approve of […]
Transport Minister Marc Garneau says Canada’s freight rail system faces “many, many weeks” of delays as a result of protests by and in support of indigenous groups across the country. As of this morning, just one of the blockades that have appeared over the last three weeks is reported to remain in place. In a […]
New blockades continued to appear on Canadian rail lines on Tuesday, extending the disruption of rail service which is approaching the start of its fourth week. In the Toronto area, a protest that blocked GO Transit’s Milton line, which runs west of the city, was broken up about 3 a.m. today by police. Three people […]
KAHNAWAKE, Quebec — Canadian Pacific has obtained an injunction to remove a blockade from Adirondack Junction, south of Montreal near the Mohawk community of Kanhawake. The Montreal Gazette reports the injunction was granted earlier today by a Quebec superior court judge. In addition to disrupting freight service, commuter train service on the route has been […]
In a deal brokered by the Canadian government, Canadian Pacific and Canadian National trains have been sharing some rail routes to bypass blockades by protesters, most notably the Tyendinaga Mohawk blockade near Belleville, Ontario, that was broken up Monday by Ontario Provincial Police. The CBC reports the arrangement began last week but was kept quiet […]
News reports say several people were arrested Monday at a rail blockade near Belleville, Ontario, after protesters ignored a midnight deadline to clear the site, the first in a series of locations where rail service has been disrupted across Canada. New blockades appeared elsewhere over the weekend. Some VIA Rail Canada and commuter rail service […]
Protests blocking rail lines across Canada now include a blockade of Canadian Pacific tracks near Kamloops, British Columbia, while protesters near Montreal have ignored an injunction served Thursday evening ordering them to clear a Canadian National line. The blockades protesting a pipeline in British Columbia, and police action to clear protesters there, are entering their […]
More Friday morning rail news: — The Tennessee legislature’s transportation committee has passed a bill supporting a feasibility study for Amtrak service between Nashville and Atlanta, responding to an idea proposed by Amtrak in January [see “Amtrak suggests new routes to Tennessee legislative committee,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 17, 2020]. Curbed Atlanta reports the study […]
VIA Rail Canada has laid off 1,000 workers as a result of the blockades of rail lines at locations across Canada, joining about 450 Canadian National workers laid off earlier this week. Some of the Canadian passenger carrier’s plans to partially restore service were thwarted Wednesday as new blockades appeared. The blockades are part of […]
Wednesday morning rail news: — Quebec has entered into an economic development agreement with the James Bay Cree that would see new rail lines and roads built in northern Quebec. Work on the C$4.7 billion dollar deal would take place in see phases and see roads and rail extended as far north as Whapmagoostui and […]
