ELMHURST, Ill. — Following a recent multi-agency event to raise child awareness of safety around railroad tracks, parents are being encouraged to share five safety tips with their children. The Sept. 27 event at the Metra station in Elmhurst, Ill., part of National Rail Safety Week, involved Union Pacific, Metra, the DuPage Railroad Safety Council, […]
SANTA ANA, Calif. — South Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia are suing the four largest U.S. Class I railroads, saying the railroads are violating U.S. antitrust law with coordinated fuel surcharges that drive up shipping costs. Reuters reports that the companies filed the suits Tuesday in federal court in Santa Ana, near their U.S. headquarters […]
PITTSBURGH — As of Tuesday, Oct. 1, Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian offers checked baggage service, having added a baggage car to its consist. In addition, space to transport up to six bicycles will be available. The Pennsylvanian operates daily, leaving New York Penn Station westbound at 10:52 a.m. and arriving at Pittsburgh at 7:59 p.m. The eastbound […]
A three-hour-late Amtrak train No. 20, the Crescent, arrives at New York’s Penn Station on Tuesday, Oct. 1, with dining car Nashville. Monday night saw the end of meals prepared by chefs and served by waitstaff on the Crescent and three other routes in the eastern U.S. Ralph Spielman Sights like this — meals prepared […]
NJ Transit trains meet at the Elizabeth, N.J., station on Aug. 6, 2019. The New Jersey Senate has formed a committee to investigate the transit agency’s service issues. TRAINS: David Lassen TRENTON, N.J. — The president of the New Jersey Senate has announced creation of a select committee to investigate NJ Transit service, soon after […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board on Tuesday issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would amend the Board’s railroad performance data reporting rules. Specifically, the Board proposes to include chemical and plastics traffic as a distinct reporting category to the Class I railroads’ weekly reporting of the “cars-held” metric, which tracks the average number […]
Steamtown’s Big Boy, No. 4012, is moved on the historic site’s turntable prior to the start of a cosmetic restoration. National Park Service SCRANTON, Pa. — Steamtown National Historic Site has removed its Big Boy locomotive from public display to perform cosmetic restoration and repainting of the Union Pacific 4-8-8-4. Visitors will not have access […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board on Tuesday announced a notice of proposed rulemaking to enhance its methodology for determining the railroad industry’s cost of capital by incorporating an additional model, called “Step MSDCF,” into the calculation. Each year, the Board determines the railroad industry’s cost of capital. This figure, which the Board calculates as […]
SEATTLE — The Washington Utilities & Transportation Commission said it has approved close to $1.5 million in grants over a two-year period for improvements to grade crossings in the state, with an emphasis on those where crude oil trains pass. The Olympia, Wash.-based commission has the authority to approve new crossings and the inspect, close, […]
SECAUCUS, N.J. — The U.S. Coast Guard has made permanent its ban on opening Amtrak’s troublesome Portal Bridge during rush hour. A six-month trial period, banning the opening of the more-than-century-old bridge over the Hackensack River during peak periods on the Northeast Corridor, began in March. [See “Coast Guard will no longer allow rush-hour openings […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation has named Kevin Boone as its full-time chief financial officer and appointed Jamie Boychuk as executive vice president of operations in moves announced this afternoon (Wednesday, Oct. 2). Ed Harris, who had held the operations position, will serve as executive vice president with a combination of operating and general executive […]
CHICAGO — A groundbreaking ceremony Monday marked the planned construction of a new, long-delayed station on Metra’s Rock Island District. The station near 79th Street and Lowe Avenue in the Auburn Park neighborhood was originally planned in 2009, but state funding was held up and eventually cut in 2017. That funding was restored earlier this […]
