William Flynn, chairman and former CEO of Atlas Air Worldwide and a former CSX executive, will succeed Richard Anderson as Amtrak CEO. Following a New York Times report earlier today, Amtrak confirmed the hiring with a press release late Monday morning. The passenger railroad says Flynn will take over as CEO on April 15, with […]
A CSX train passes through Blue Island, Ill., in September 2019. CSX led Class I railroads in operating ratio in 2019. TRAINS: David Lassen The operating ratio at every Class I railroad fell below 65% for the first time in 2019 as the industry average improved to an all-time low of 61.9%. The increased profitability […]
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. – CSX Transportation will lease its 39-mile Marietta Subdivision and related trackage in West Virginia and Ohio to a short line operator. Employees on the line, which runs from Parkersburg, W.Va., to Marietta and Relief, Ohio, were informed of the pending transaction in a letter dated Wednesday. Belpre Industrial Parkersburg Railroad, which will […]
CUMBERLAND, Md. — The Trains Magazine led fund-raising effort to contribute $100,000 toward the restoration of the last Baldwin steam locomotive made for domestic use — Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 — is off to a good start. With the appeal to readers still in its first month, more than $41,000 — including one […]
WASHINGTON — The National Park Foundation announced this week that since 2011, it has engaged more than one million students in educational programs connecting them with national parks across the country. As the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service, the National Park Foundation raises support from generous individuals and dedicated partners for diverse […]
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 […]
Friday morning rail news: — Norfolk Southern has informed customers that Pan Am Railways’ Hoosac Tunnel in Western Massachusetts is now expected to remain out of service until mid-March, following the partial collapse of a wall in the 145-year-old tunnel on Feb. 12. The closure affects the line between Mechanicville, N.Y., and Ayer, Mass.; NS […]
A Gulf Coast inspection train pauses at Bay St. Louis, Miss., on Feb. 18, 2016. Four years after the trip hosted by the Southern Rail Commission and Amtrak, there is still no firm cost estimate for what CSX Transportation will require to allow service to be reinstated. Bob Johnston WASHINGTON — Each year following the […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today released a quarterly status update on railroads’ self-reported progress, as of December 31, 2019, toward fully implementing positive train control (PTC) systems as required by Congress. Based on Fourth Quarter 2019 PTC Progress Reports from the 42 railroads statutorily required to implement the […]
Stockton Terminal & Eastern No. 678 OmniTrax HAMBURG, Pa. – OmniTRAX Inc. and subsidiary Stockton Terminal & Eastern have donated SW1200 locomotive No. 678 to the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum in Hamburg. It is one of just five such units built for the Reading Co. by EMD in 1963. The museum is affiliated with the […]
NJ Transit’s “Princeton Dinky” shuttle arrives in Princeton, N.J., on Aug. 6, 2019. NJ Transit will receive a record subsidy under the budget proposed by Gov. Phil Murphy. TRAINS: David Lassen Thursday morning rail news: — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed 2021 state budget would increase funding for NJ Transit by $132 million to […]
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 […]
