Wednesday morning rail news in brief: — Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit is preparing to buy out Northwestern Pacific Railroad, the freight hauler that shares its tracks, giving it full control of its right-of-way and facing a decision whether to operate freight service itself or find a contract operator. The Santa Rosa Press Democrats reports the […]
Former VIA Rail Canada chief to lead Siemens Mobility in Canada NEWSWIRE
Yves Desjardins-Siciliano Siemens Siemens Mobility announces the appointment of Yves Desjardins-Siciliano as Canadian CEO for Siemens Mobility Limited. Desjardins-Siciliano will build Siemens Mobility’s presence in Canada and lead its team in the provision of transportation solutions to Canadian service providers. “With deep industry knowledge and demonstrated customer focus, Yves is well-positioned to grow Siemens Mobility […]
FTA awards more than $1.5 billion in four grants to transit systems NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON — This week, the Federal Transit Administration announced a number of large grant awards to transit agencies around the country as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, signed by President Donald J. Trump. Grants and awardees are: •$449 Million for BART, SFMTA in San Francisco •$876.8 Million for Washington (D.C.) […]
Royal Gorge Route opening pushed back NEWSWIRE
Colorado’s Royal Gorge Route Railroad has pushed back its planned opening, and now is aiming for June 13, with hopes of opening sooner. TRAINS: David Lassen Wednesday tourist railroad and museum news in brief: — Colorado’s Royal Gorge Route Railroad has pushed back its planned reopening from May 23 as it waits for a variance […]
Senator, Congressman call for investigation into Buffalo-area derailment NEWSWIRE
Still more Wednesday rail news: — U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins (D-Buffalo) are calling on the Federal Railroad Administration to investigate Monday night’s derailment of a Buffalo & Pittsburgh train in East Aurora, N.Y. A locomotive and 15 cars derailed in the incident, which led to the evacuation of a […]
Short line association now offering ‘Safety Culture Assessment’ for railroads NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON — Based on data collected from over five years of short line Safety Culture Assessments conducted, the Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI) has developed and released a new resource for short line railroads, entitled Strong Safety Culture Best Practices. This first-of-its-kind guide is easily accessible on the website, and available to all short line […]
B&P derailment leads to evacuation NEWSWIRE
Still more Tuesday rail news in brief: — About 40 homes were evacuated as a precautionary measure when a Buffalo & Pittsburgh train derailed in East Aurora, N.Y., Monday night. The Buffalo News reports that a locomotive and 15 of the train’s 98 cars derailed. The manifest freight included some petroleum products, police said, leading […]
N&W Y6a to return to St. Louis after five years in Virginia NEWSWIRE
Norfolk & Western Y6a No. 2156 will return to the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis after five years in Virginia. It is at left in this May 2015 view of the reunion of N&W’s Y, J, and A classes in Roanoke, Va. TRAINS: Jim Wrinn After spending the past half-decade in Virginia, former […]
Sound Transit sets ‘recovery fare,’ plans increased light rail service NEWSWIRE
A Sounder commuter train arrives in Lakewood, Wash., in June 2018. Tickets for the commuter train will be just $2 in June as Sound Transit introduces post-COVID-19 “recovery fares.” TRAINS: David Lassen More Tuesday rail news in brief: — Seattle-area Sound Transit will offer temporarily reduced “recovery fares” as of June 1 as it resumes […]
White Pass & Yukon receives second new locomotive NEWSWIRE
The second of the White Pass & Yukon’s new diesels arrives in Skagway, Alaska, on Monday. White Pass & Yukon Tuesday morning rail news in brief: — The White Pass & Yukon has received the second in its order of 10 new locomotives. National Railway Equipment E3000CC-DC No. 3001 arrived in Skagway, Alaska, by ship […]
Digest: Charges reinstated against Amtrak 188 engineer
Monday morning rail news in brief: — Criminal charges have been reinstated against Brian Bostian, the latest twist in the legal saga of the engineer who was at the controls for the fatal Philadelphia derailment of Amtrak train No. 188 in 2015. Charges against Bostian were dropped for the second time in July 2019 when […]
KCS unveils ‘Salute to Heroes” locomotive NEWSWIRE
Kansas City Southern has released specially painted SD70ACe No. 4009, saluting railroad and other essential workers. Kansas City Southern Monday afternoon rail news in brief: — Kansas City Southern has unveiled a locomotive saluting “the heroes throughout our network and beyond — especially railroad employees,” according to a Facebook post. SD70ACe No. 4009 wears a […]