WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration has finalized regulations giving state agencies overseeing rail transit more authority to conduct inspections and clarifying existing rules. An updated final rule regarding State Safety Oversight Agencies published on Friday, Oct. 18, allows those oversight agencies to conduct inspections of rail transit operations without advance notice, and requires them […]
DONALDSONVILLE, La. — No injuries were reported when 17 cars of a Union Pacific train derailed today (Friday, Oct. 18) in Donaldsonville, leading to a spill of what is described as a non-hazardous chemical. The derailment occurred about 7:30 a.m. A railroad representative told WBRZ-TV that cyanuric acid, used in herbicides and chlorine bleach, was […]
WATERBURY, Conn. — Train service on Metro-North’s Waterbury Branch, halted since the line suffered significant damage from flooding in August, will resume on Monday, Oct. 28, the Connecticut Department of Transportation has announced. Major washouts near Beacon Falls and Seymour, Conn., after a major storm Aug. 18 have prevented any train operations. During an examination […]
HAMMOND, Ind. — The South Shore Line is opening its new Hammond Gateway station as of today (Friday, Oct. 18) and closing the existing Hammond station. The relocation will accommodate the West Lake Corridor line between Hammond and Dyer, Ind., currently under construction. “We sincerely appreciate our passengers’ patience and cooperation through this stage of […]
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Passengers on VIA Rail Canada’s Canadian who found their trip disrupted by a freight-train accident in Saskatchewan on Wednesday were eventually taken to Winnipeg, but left to find their own way home from there, the CBC reports. The collision between a CN freight train and a farm tractor killed the driver of […]
RICHMOND, British Columbia — An error in canceling a track occupancy permit led to a Canadian Pacific train striking a track supervisor’s hi-rail vehicle in a Dec. 29, 2022, incident, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in an investigation report released on Thursday, Oct. 17. No one was injured in the incident near Kamloops, […]
MONTREAL — When safety is on the table, there can be no debate about measures taken to ensure it. So when Canadian National informed VIA Rail Canada last Friday that all Venture trainsets of less than 32 axles could not operate at track speed across highway crossings equipped with warning devices triggered by Grade Crossing […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has approved acquisition by Canadian Pacific Kansas City and CSX Transportation of the Meridian & Bigbee Railroad from Genesee & Wyoming, allowing the two Class I lines to create a new direct connection at Myrtlewood, Ala. The approval is effective Nov. 16, 2024. In separate decisions, the board approved […]
GERARD, Saskatchewan — A Canadian National intermodal train has derailed near the Manitoba border after striking a farm tractor, the Canadian Press reports. The incident occurred this afternoon (Oct. 16) at a grade crossing near Gerald, Sask. The driver of the tractor was killed, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, while a CN spokeswoman […]
GATINEAU, Quebec — A VIA Rail Canada train came within about 1,100 feet of a head-on collision with a Canadian National freight train in an April 2023 incident, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in an investigation report released today (Wednesday, Oct. 16). In the report, the agency renewed its call for Canada to […]
WASHINGTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Green Line train that derailed earlier this month ran through a red signal and was traveling at 36 mph in a 10-mph zone immediately before derailing, according to the preliminary investigation report from the National Transportation Safety Board. The derailment occurred when the train reached a switch that […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board on Tuesday, Oct. 15, granted Union Pacific a 30-day extension to the mediation period in its effort to reach an agreement with Chicago’s Metra regarding some financial aspects of an agreement to continue commuter rail service on three Metra routes on UP lines. The mediation period was to have […]
