BURLINGTON, Vt. — Vermont Rail System has reached an agreement to purchase assets and operating rights of the New Hampshire Central Railroad to expand its operations in northern New Hampshire, the companies announced Tuesday. “VRS has a 60-year tradition of helping local businesses with efficient and reliable freight service,” Selden Houghton, Vermont Rail System president, […]
Train Topic: Rail Industry
NTSB issues final report on NS conductor trainee killed by steel that penetrated locomotive cab
WASHINGTON — Nighttime visibility made it impossible for the train engineer to prevent or mitigate the accident in which a Norfolk Southern conductor trainee was struck and killed by protruding metal from a gondola car on an adjacent track in a incident in Bessemer, Ala., the National Transportation Safety Board said in the final report […]
Brown, Inman sworn in as NTSB members
WASHINGTON — Alvin Brown and J. Todd Inman have joined the National Transportation Safety Board, filling two vacancies and restoring the board to its full five members. Both members were sworn in on Monday. Brown’s term runs through 2026 and Inman’s concludes in 2027. Brown, mayor of Jacksonville, Fla., from 2021 to 2015, was previously […]
Schulte named president of Anacostia’s Northern Lines Railway
CHICAGO — Quentin Schulte has been named president of Northern Lines Railway, Anacostia Rail Holdings has announced. Schulte has previously been the general manager of the 25-mile railroad that operates BNSF Railway trackage in the St. Cloud, Minn., area, handling more than 10,000 carloads annually. He joined the short line after 15 years with BNSF […]
Florida bill increases penalties for driver, pedestrian grade-crossing violations
MIAMI — Florida’s railroad industry is applauding one provision of a wide-ranging transportation bill signed last week by Gov. Ron DeSantis that increases penalties for failure to yield or provide sufficient clearance at a grade crossing. The updated provisions in HB 1301 set penalties of a fine of $500, 25 hours of community service, and […]
Norfolk Southern releases preliminary financial results, announces settlement of East Palestine class action lawsuit
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern, which remains under pressure from an activist investor, today took the unusual step of releasing preliminary first quarter financial results, which included a $600 million proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit related to the East Palestine, Ohio, hazardous materials wreck. Including the impact of the settlement, the railroad’s operating income […]
Colorado rail regulation bill advances
DENVER — Colorado legislation limiting train lengths and requiring wayside detectors, among other provisions, has passed the state’s House of Representatives and been introduced in the Senate. HB24-1030 is sponsored in the House by state Rep. Javier Mabrey (D-Denver) and in the Senate by Sens. Lisa Cutter (D-Lakewood) and Tony Exum (D-Colorado Springs.). As passed […]
SEPTA opens new Drexel Station at 30th Street
PHILADELPHIA — Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and other officials on Monday marked the opening of the rebuilt and renamed Drexel Station at 30th Street, the transit up for transit and bus lines adjacent to the station served by Amtrak and SEPTA Regional Rail. The new station name reflects a $3.1 million endowment from Drexel University, […]
BART to offer final rides on original equipment on April 20
OAKLAND, Calif. — Bay Area Rapid Transit, the 131-mile electrified rail network in the San Francisco Bay Area, is offering the public a last chance to ride the 1970s-era futuristic railcars that made up its original fleet. On Saturday, April 20, at 1 p.m. at the MacArthur station in Oakland, BART will commemorate the cars […]
Ancora’s activist campaign gains support of Norfolk Southern investor (updated)
CLEVELAND – Ancora Holdings’ campaign to oust Norfolk Southern’s management team last week gained the support of New York investment management firm Neuberger Berman, which said it has concerns about the railroad’s operations, strategy, safety, and service. “We believe a change in management and refreshment of the board … are warranted and could stimulate improved […]
PATH launches two-year, $430 million infrastructure project
NEW YORK — The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has launched a two-year project to upgrade infrastructure of the PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) system, the 13.8-mile rail rapid transit system connecting Newark, Harrison, Jersey City, and Hoboken, N.J., to two lines in Manhattan. The $430 million “PATH Forward” project announced Friday will […]
San Francisco train control project seeks to retire system using floppy disks
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco is far from a center of cutting-edge computer technology — when it comes to its light rail system. KGO-TV reports that a portion of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, or Muni, rail system still uses an Automatic Train Control system installed in 1998 that requires its software to be […]