Association of American Railroads Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Feb. 2, as well as volumes for January 2019. U.S. railroads originated 1,238,487 carloads in January 2019, up 1.7 percent, or 21,054 carloads, from January 2018. U.S. railroads also originated 1,316,168 […]
Section: News Wire
Amazon as a common carrier, just like railroads NEWSWIRE
Speculation grows about Amazon’s increasing role as a freight carrier and what that may mean for suppliers of transportation services by air, truck, water, and perhaps eventually by rail. Since what has been termed the “2013 Christmas Fiasco” in which United Parcel Service failed to deliver Amazon packages before Christmas Day, Amazon has been assuming […]
‘Big Boy’ passes early pressure test
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific’s Big Boy is another step closer to running this year after it passed a Federally required hydrostatic test. Union Pacific posted a video on YouTube Wednesday showing workers knocking on the locomotive with hammers while pressurized water filled the boiler. One scene shows a pressure gauge at 300 pounds per […]
Coal train rear-ends another in remote Wyoming canyon NEWSWIRE
WENDOVER, Wyo. – Two BNSF Railway coal trains derailed in a remote Wyoming canyon on Monday, injuring two people and spilling fuel into a nearby river. The Star Tribune reports that a loaded coal train rear ended another train north of Wendover. Three locomotives and four cars derailed as a result of the incident. The […]
‘Drunk, shirtless’ man arrested after boarding ‘Starlight,’ trying to operate locomotive
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A drunk, shirtless man was arrested Monday after climbing aboard a moving Amtrak train and attempting to operate the second locomotive in the consist, sounding the horn repeatedly. The Sacramento Bee reports Dylan Thomas Baldini, 26, of McCloud, Calif., was arrested after boarding the Coast Starlight in Mount Shasta, Calif., about 1:18 […]
European Union blocks Siemens-Alstom deal NEWSWIRE
Siemens Velaro ICE (foreground) and Alstom TGV trainsets await action at Paris Est station. A merger of the two companies has been stopped by European regulators. Keith Fender BRUSSELS — The European Union’s central administration, the EU Commission, has announced it will not permit the proposed Siemens-Alstom merger, which originally had been targeted to be complete […]
Historic Southern E8 returns to Southeastern Railway Museum NEWSWIRE
Southern E8 No. 6901 as it appears in Duluth, Ga., after a mechanical restoration. Todd DeFeo DULUTH, Ga. — A vintage Southern Railway locomotive has returned to the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, Ga., after nearly four years of restoration work. Southern Railway No. 6901, an E8a diesel passenger locomotive, routinely powered Crescent passenger train […]
MBTA commuter lines overwhelmed by Super Bowl celebration crowds NEWSWIRE
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s commuter-rail network was swamped by record ridership Tuesday as fans attended the New England Patriots’ Super Bowl victory parade — despite advance planning that included more than two dozen extra trains. The Boston Globe reports that MBTA authorities said ridership was about double the usual 127,000 trips. “We […]
Site of fatal British Columbia derailment has challenged CP for more than a century NEWSWIRE
CP maintenance workers remove ice from the walls of a Spiral Tunnel to prevent damage to passing trains. Canadian Pacific FIELD, British Columbia – This week’s fatal derailment in British Columbia that took the lives of three railroaders is not the first time tragedy has struck Canadian Pacific’s rugged Laggan Subdivision. Kicking Horse Pass, home […]
CP CEO on fatal wreck: ‘This is a tragedy’ NEWSWIRE
FIELD, British Columbia — Canadian Pacific president and CEO Keith Creel called this week’s fatal derailment in British Columbia a “tragedy” and has vowed to figure out what caused a train to derail while descending Kicking Horse Pass. Three railroaders were killed at about 1 a.m. Monday when a westbound grain train derailed between the […]
Former Conrail locomotives move to third acts in Estonia, Ukraine NEWSWIRE
BEFORE EVR Cargo No. 1566 at the Tapa shops in June 2011. It is a former Conrail C30-7A No. 6577. Keith Fender Locomotive No. 1564 rebuilt as Operail C30-M (Ex-Conrail No. 6565) seen at the Tapa shops in October 2018. Operail TALLIN, Estonia — Former Conrail GE C30-7A locomotives are being given a radical rebuild […]
FRA says it has no part in restoring service on shut-down NJ Transit lines NEWSWIRE
ATLANTIC CITY — While NJ Transit has said a need for federal approval is one reason it has not restored service on its Atlantic City line and other suspended services, a Federal Railroad Administration spokesman said the FRA has no role in reopening those lines. FRA spokesman Warren Flateau told NJ.com that “NJ Transit may, […]