Catching up on weekend rail news:
— Protesters continued to block Canadian National rail lines near Belleville, Ontario, disrupting Canadian National and VIA Rail Canada. The National Post reports that VIA cancelled 18 trains on Sunday and said service will not resume “until the issue is resolved.” The indigenous group blocking the tracks is demonstrating against police action taken against protestors in British Columbia. The protests are spreading: A second group blocked Canadian Pacific and GO Transit trains in Toronto on Saturday; another blocked tracks in CN tracks in Kingston, Ont., on Sunday.
— Supporters of Amtrak’s Valley Flyer service in Massachusetts, which began in August, are trying to determine how close the trial operation is to meeting the ridership goal that would ensure continued state backing. The service between Springfield and Greenfield, Mass., must reach 24,000 riders a year by 2021, and Masslive.com reports that the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission is hampered because Amtrak only publishes ridership data yearly.
— Norfolk Southern’s line between Spartanburg and Columbia, S.C., is expected to be out of service for approximately one week after a bridge washout near Columbia, the railroad told customers in a service advisory. The washout came shortly after the railroad had cleared a derailment in Columbia but was unrelated to that incident. NS is advising customers that traffic delays of 24 to 48 hours will occur while it detours traffic.
— Rail lines across Britain encountered an unusual weather-related disruption over the weekend when a strong winter storm blew trampolines onto the tracks in a number of locations. At one spot, the BBC reports, a trampoline became caught in overhead power lines. Network Rail, the owner and manager of British rail infrastructure, asked people living near rail lines to ensure their trampolines and other outdoor furniture is tied down or cleared away. (Note: Link has been corrected.)
— The Massachusetts factory of China’s CRRC, the world’s largest rail equipment manufacturer, is expanding and hiring workers as the company continues to deal with production setbacks and legislative restrictions, Masslive.com reports. A CRRC MA official said the company is about 60 cars behind on its production schedule for cars for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority; it is also behind schedule on an order for Philadelphia’s SEPTA [see “New SEPTA cars from CRRC to be delayed,” Trains News Wire, July 1, 2019].
