SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Officials have no estimate when rail service might resume past the site of a landslide near the San Clemente Pier, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. A Wednesday, Jan. 24, slide destroyed a bridge on a pedestrian trail, sending debris and parts of the bridge onto the Surf Line tracks below. The […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Tri-Rail increases MiamiCentral shuttles
MIAMI — Beginning this Saturday, Jan. 27, South Florida’s West Palm Beach-Miami International Airport Tri-Rail service will be connected to downtown Miami with 13 weekday round-trip shuttle trains and 12 round trips on the weekends. Since the service’s Jan. 13 launch, the commuter authority has been gradually ramping up service to Brightline’s MiamiCentral facility [see […]
Iowa legislators consider bill requiring defect detectors on branch lines
DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa legislators are considering a bill requiring defect detectors on the state’s branch line, the latest example of state actions to regulate railroads in the wake of last year’s derailment and toxic-chemical release in East Palestine, Ohio. Senate File 512, introduced by state Sen. Tom Shipley (R-Corning, Iowa) requires defect detectors […]
Conway Scenic Railroad forges cruise-ship partnerships
NORTH CONWAY, N.H. – Cruise-ship passengers will soon be riding Conway Scenic Railroad’s trains over its Mountain Division through picturesque Crawford Notch in New Hampshire’s 6,000-foot-high White Mountains. Service is expected to begin in June. The railroad will offer ship patrons another option for shore excursions when they debark at Portland, Maine, a popular port […]
MBTA to shut down portions of Red, Green lines in February
BOSTON — A 10-day shutdown of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Red Line between the Alewife and Harvard stations is the centerpiece of MBTA’s plans for major maintenance projects in February, the latest phase in a more than year-long effort to eliminate the accumulated slow orders on the agency’s rail transit system. Also, an 18-day […]
Railroads seek to head off Mexican bridge closures as cross-border traffic grows
OMAHA, Neb. — Railroad executives will meet with U.S. and Mexican customs officials next month to discuss how they can work together to keep vital rail border crossings open amid the surge in migrants crossing the Rio Grande. The railroad bridges linking Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, with Mexico were shut down for four […]
FRA issues final rule requiring emergency breathing equipment for train crews
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration today announced a final rule requiring railroads to provide emergency escape breathing apparatuses for train crew members and other employees who could be at risk in the event of a hazardous material release — a regulation stemming from last year’s incident in East Palestine, Ohio. The rule is scheduled […]
Loss of radio communication played role in New York City subway collision
WASHINGTON — A supervisor operating an out-of-service train lost radio communication with his flagger and did not receive a message to stop, passing a red signal and colliding with another train in a Jan. 4 incident involving two trains on New York City Transit’s No. 1 subway line, according to the preliminary accident report issued […]
Slide issues again halt Surfliner, Metrolink service through San Clemente, Calif.
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink commuter rail service has once again been suspended in the San Clemente area because of landslide concerns, a long-running issue in the area over the last two years. The advisory page on the Surfliner website says tracks have been closed near the San Clemente Pier “until […]
Downeaster’s Rockland branch experiment encounters equipment snag, Amtrak involvement delays (updated)
BRUNSWICK, Maine — A proposal to use a Rail Diesel Car to offer year-round connections on a former Maine Central branch line from Rockland, Maine to a rendezvous with Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority’s Amtrak-operated Downeaster at Brunswick, Maine, is being re-evaluated after the RDC suffered a debilitating breakdown last fall. Midcoast Railservice, the carrier with […]
NJ Transit proposes 15% fare increases, sets hearings
NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit is proposing fare increases of 15% for fiscal 2025 to address a projected $106.6 million budget deficit, the agency announced Wednesday, and will hold a series of 10 hearings on the proposal beginning March 4. The fare increase would take effect July 1, 2024. The proposal also includes annual 3% […]
Short line to be launched at Port of West Virginia
FOLLANSBEE, W.Va — Empire Diversified Energy, a holding company involved in sustainable energy and logistics, will establish a short line railroad to serve the Port of West Virginia, the company announced Wednesday. Empire River Rail intends to be a clean-energy system and is part of the effort to make the port in Follansbee, on the […]