HAZELTON, Kan. — Seventeen cars of a BNSF intermodal train derailed early this morning (Monday, Feb. 12) east of Hazelton on the railroad’s Southern Transcon, KWNS-TV reports. Officials from Barber County Emergency Management told the station no hazardous materials were involved. BNSF told KWNS in a statement that the crew was not injured in the […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Amtrak, transit agencies prepare for winter storm in Northeast
NEW YORK — Amtrak and transit agencies in the Northeast have begun making schedule adjustments for Tuesday, Feb. 13, based on forecasts of a major winter storm expected to hit the area. As of 5:10 p.m. Eastern Time, Amtrak has announced these changes for Tuesday: — Acela trains Nos. 2163 and 2167 will not operate […]
Sanimax and Union Pacific settle common carrier case over reduced local service
WASHINGTON — Sanimax and Union Pacific have reached a settlement that ends the common-carrier complaint that the Minnesota shipper had filed in 2020 after UP unilaterally reduced the frequency of local service to the Sanimax facility in South St. Paul. Sanimax and UP today told the Surface Transportation Board that they had agreed to a […]
UP coal train derails in Feather River Canyon
BLAIRSDEN, Calif. — Fourteen cars of a Union Pacific train derailed this afternoon (Sunday, Feb. 11) in the Feather River Canyon, sending cars and coal into the Middle Fork of the Feather River, KOVR-TV reports. The California Office of Emergency Service’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response said it was assessing the environmental impact. Union […]
NS train derails in eastern North Carolina
AURORA, N.C. — Fourteen cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed early Saturday morning near the town of Aurora, leading to a leak of molten sulfur from one car. WITN-TV reports the derailment occurred about 1 a.m. Beaufort County Public Information Officer Brandon Tester told the station the sulfur hardened as it met the cold […]
Ontario, Canada, man posts bond after arrest for tampering with CN tracks
LONDON, Ontario — An Ontario man arrested for tampering with railroad tracks is not allowed to use tools as a condition of his bail, the London Free Press reports. Wael El-Ghadban, 35, of London, Ont., was arrested Feb. 1 and charged with mischief endangering human life after acts of tampering at several locations in Middlesex […]
BNSF coal train derails in Nebraska
CAIRO, Neb. — Three locomotives and 57 cars of a BNSF coal train derailed early this morning (Friday, Feb. 9) near Cairo, News Channel Nebraska reports. No injuries were reported in the incident about 4:45 a.m. along State Route 2, which blocked crossings in a 3-mile stretch from High Street in Cairo to 110th Road southeast […]
Stop that train: Railroading is violent business
Railroading Railroading is violent business. Freight cars coupling sound like small explosions, diesel engines reverberate like distant thunder, and horns at grade crossings are so loud that even deaf people can feel them. So, with all of this violent sound going on, how do you get the attention of a railroader at work? Use more […]
Incorrectly aligned derail caused 2022 incident with CN train, TSB determines
DORVAL, Quebec — An incorrectly lined derail caused the derailment of a Canadian National train on CSX track in a December 2022 incident near Huntingdon, Quebec, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada determined in its final report released Thursday, Feb. 8. No injuries occurred in the incident, which saw two locomotives and six intermodal cars […]
NTSB releases preliminary report on two fatal Brightline collisions at same grade crossing
WASHINGTON — Drivers in two fatal January collisions at the same grade crossing in Melbourne, Fla., drove around lowered crossing gates before being struck by Brightline trains, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its preliminary report issued Thursday, Feb. 8, confirming earlier news reports. Officially, the NTSB is investigating a Jan. 12 collision at […]
Modified Surfliner schedule extended at least another week
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — A modified Pacific Surfliner schedule because of landslide issues in San Clemente has been extended at least another week, through Friday, Feb. 16, according to the updated Travel Advisory page on the Surfliner website. The modified schedule, available here and described in detail on that advisory page, includes two outright cancellations […]
North Dakota Supreme Court upholds dismissal of suit over BNSF Bismarck bridge
BISMARCK, N.D. — The North Dakota Supreme Court has rebuffed a preservation group’s latest legal effort to block demolition of BNSF’s Bismarck-Mandan Rail Bridge, upholding a lower court’s dismissal of a suit by Friends of the Rail Bridge on technical grounds. The Fargo Forum reports that the court’s five justices, in a decision released today […]