Digest: Amtrak completes PTC implementation

Friday morning rail news: PTC implementation complete on Amtrak-owned or controlled mileage Amtrak says it has completed implementation of positive train control on all track owned or controlled by the passenger railroad. The final portion to be completed was 1 mile of slow-speed Chicago terminal trackage. The railroad operates or controls 898 miles covered by […]

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Digest: High winds cause BNSF derailment in Oklahoma

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More Tuesday morning rail news: Winds derail BNSF train in Oklahoma High winds derailed a BNSF Railway train near Gage, Okla., on Monday night. The community’s fire chief estimated as many as 25 cars were derailed by winds up to 70 mph, according to KWTV News in Oklahoma City. The train included three cars of […]

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Digest: Brightline ends marketing agreement with Virgin Group

Saturday morning rail news: Brightline severs ties with Virgin, will retain current name, image Florida passenger operator Brightline says it has ended its agreement with Richard Branson’s Virgin Enterprises and will retain its Brightline name and image, although Virgin may challenge termination of the two companies’ licensing agreement. Forbes reports that Brightline reported the move […]

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Making the case for daily operation

Second in a series NEW ORLEANS – Centralized decision-making dominated Amtrak’s management philosophy both before and after Tom Downs’ stint as president between 1993 and 1998, but his belief that service, revenue, and expense managing choices had to be made close to the customer fueled the return to daily frequencies. To rectify the situation Downs […]

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