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Thursday midday rail news in brief: Metro Transit shuts down all light rail, bus service After initially halting service on its light rail Blue Line, Minneapolis/St. Paul’s Metro Transit will shut down all bus and light rail service as of 4 p.m. for at least the rest of the day, with a decision about tomorrow […]
Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad president Greg Vreeland uses hand signals after attaching track tongs to a 200-foot section of 100-pound rail held by a contractor’s excavator on May 11, 2020. The rail is being moved into place on a new alignment while the excavator sits on what will be the new Wild Rivers Trail alignment […]
Wednesday morning rail news in brief: — Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit is preparing to buy out Northwestern Pacific Railroad, the freight hauler that shares its tracks, giving it full control of its right-of-way and facing a decision whether to operate freight service itself or find a contract operator. The Santa Rosa Press Democrats reports the […]
Still more Wednesday rail news: — U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins (D-Buffalo) are calling on the Federal Railroad Administration to investigate Monday night’s derailment of a Buffalo & Pittsburgh train in East Aurora, N.Y. A locomotive and 15 cars derailed in the incident, which led to the evacuation of a […]
WASHINGTON — Based on data collected from over five years of short line Safety Culture Assessments conducted, the Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI) has developed and released a new resource for short line railroads, entitled Strong Safety Culture Best Practices. This first-of-its-kind guide is easily accessible on the website, and available to all short line […]
John Walsh American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association WASHINGTON — The Short Line Safety Institute is pleased to announce the hiring of John Walsh in a new position, Director of Hazardous Materials Programs. Walsh’s 30-year career includes experience in public safety, security, emergency management, homeland security and compliance, including 15 years in the freight […]
Sunday morning rail news: — Vermont Rail System will acquire “certain assets and operating rights” from New England Southern Railroad of Canterbury, N.H., to expand its operations, the company, which operates four short lines in Vermont and one in New York, announced on its Facebook page. New England Southern, a 39-year-old, 22-mile short line, operates […]
More Friday rail news: — The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority will resume regular service on most bus and trolley and some rail lines in the Philadelphia area as of Sunday, May 17, the agency has announced, with fare collection resuming Monday, May 18. Some stations will reopen; COVID-19 measures will remain in effect. Trolley route […]
The Grapevine Vintage Railroad, shown in 2017, will resume operations on Saturday. TRAINS: David Lassen Thursday afternoon rail news: — The Grapevine Vintage Railroad in Grapevine, Texas, will resume operations Saturday after closing in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. On Sunday, the railroad will offer four 1-hour Mother’s Day excursions, departing at 10 a.m., […]
Tuesday rail news: — The U.S. Surface Transportation Board on Monday approved Canadian Pacific’s purchase of the Central Maine & Quebec, effective June 18. Canadian regulators had already approved the purchase of trackage in Canada. The STB approval of the purchase — officially by CP’s U.S. subsidiary, Soo Line Corp. — denied a request by […]
The bumpy relationship between the Reading & Northern and the borough of Jim Thorpe, Pa., has hit another roadblock, apparently meaning the railroad will not resume tourist rail operations in the community. The Lehighton (Pa) Times News reports that the railroad is balking at an ordinance that would have exempted its operations from a local […]
More Thursday morning rail news: — The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association has announced the 295 recipients of its 2019 “Jake” Safety Awards, which go to railroads which perform better than the Federal Railroad Administration average injury frequency rate for Class II and Class III railroads. Some 278 railroads received the Jake With […]
