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Digest: Watco makes bid for one South Dakota rail line; current operator to buy another
Thursday morning rail news: Watco offers to buy state-owned route in South Dakota; state agrees to D&I purchase of Sioux Valley line Shortline holding company Watco is willing to pay up to $13 million to buy a line between Mitchell and Rapid City, S.D., from the state of South Dakota, a Watco representative told the […]
News Wire Digest second section for Aug. 20: Report says Amtrak oversight problems led to Moynihan station issues; Metra extends sale of $10 pass
More Thursday morning rail news: Metro-North, Long Island RR reach PTC milestones Metro-North Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road have reached significant milestones in positive train control implementation, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced. Metro-North has operability on 100% of its rail lines, while all Long Island equipment is now PTC equipped. Metro-North still needs […]
Analysis: Loss of connections will make Amtrak restoration thresholds difficult to achieve
CHICAGO — Two key documents released by Amtrak last week — the schedule for triweekly operation of long-distance trains to take effect in October, and the benchmarks for restoration of those trains to daily operation — can, taken together, show how difficult it will be for trains to achieve the measurements necessary to increase service. […]
Unions, passenger groups offer support to Metra in dispute with UP
WASHINGTON — A coalition of unions and passenger groups has filed a statement with the Surface Transportation Board supporting Metra’s request for a preliminary injunction to require Union Pacific to continue operating commuter service on three Chicago-area routes. The statement filed Tuesday notes that the STB has said it will hold ruling on Metra’s quest […]
Metra unveils C&NW heritage locomotive
Locomotive news in brief: Metra C&NW heritage unit debuts Chicago commuter railroad Metra has unveiled its latest heritage locomotive. Metra F59PHI No. 90 was released Monday from the company’s paint booth in a Chicago & North Western-inspired scheme. The design incorporates elements of C&NW’s paint scheme worn on early passenger diesel locomotives such as EMD’s […]
Digest: Engine from GE test locomotive declared mechanical engineering landmark
Monday morning preservation and tourist railroad news: Diesel engine from GE test locomotive declared a mechanical engineering landmark A prototype diesel engine built for use in a General Electric test locomotive has been declared an Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ National History & Heritage Committee. The 1,200-hp Cooper-Bessemer FVAL8T […]
Digest: Two CN workers injured during repair work at grade crossing
Monday morning rail news: CN workers suffer serious injuries when hit by vehicle at grade crossing Two Canadian National Railway employees were hospitalized with serious injuries when they were struck by a vehicle while doing repairs at a grade crossing in Alberta late Friday night. Global News reports the accident occurred about 11:30 p.m. when […]
Digest: Amtrak seeks permanent closure of New Jersey lift bridge
More Monday morning rail news: Amtrak seeks to close troublesome Newark lift bridge Amtrak is seeking to permanently close an 85-year-old New Jersey lift bridge adjacent to Newark Penn Station that sometimes fails to close properly, delaying its trains as well as those of NJ Transit and PATH. NJ.com reports the railroad has applied to […]
Amtrak leadership defends value of triweekly service as short-term move (updated)
WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s top managers contend cutting long-distance operation to triweekly is a valid short-term money saving solution in the reduced ridership environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic, but also admit the company does not have specific plans to maintain daily operation if directed to do so by Congress. In an Aug. 6 Trains News […]
Digest: Durango & Silverton won’t run to Silverton this year
Saturday morning rail news: Durango & Silverton won’t reach Silverton in 2020 The Durango & Silverton has given up hopes of operating to Silverton this summer, and will continue operating excursions between Rockwood and Cascade for the remainder of the 2020 season. The Durango Herald reports the railroad will offer a minimum of five daily […]
Panel looks at PSR impact on Class I, shortline railroads
A trio of experts discussed the pros, cons, and reality of Precision Scheduled Railroading this week during the Midwest Virtual Rail Conference. C. Tyler Dick, a lecturer and principal research engineer at the Railtec program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, says the late E. Hunter Harrison’s operating model aims to combine the best […]
