HINTON, Alberta — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada will investigate a Canadian National Railway derailment that occurred today (Saturday, June 1) west of Edmonton, Global News reports. TSB spokesman Liam MacDonald said an estimated 20 cars were involved in the derailment that occurred about 5:30 a.m. in Hinton, 51 miles east of Jasper on […]
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DENVER — Colorado’s Front Range Passenger District will wait until 2026 to ask voters to approve sales-tax funding for the rail project in the district’s 13 counties, the district board decided on Friday (May 31). The decision by the full 20-member board to pursue further planning and service modeling for the planned Fort Collins-Pueblo passenger […]
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Railroad safety experts are questioning the conclusions of a study released this week that found that a 200-car train is 24% more likely to derail than a 50-car train. The study, by researchers from Brigham Young University, Georgetown University, and Virginia Tech, analyzed Federal Railroad Administration rail equipment accident data from 2013 through 2022. The […]
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MOBILE, Ala. — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s office has been in contact with officials in Mobile about possible state involvement in the Gulf Coast passenger project, AL.com reports. Mobile officials expressed concern during a Monday meeting that the city, rather than the state, was being asked to provide funding for Amtrak’s effort to launch passenger […]
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VENTURA, Calif. — For the second straight year, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner is adding service to Ventura while the city hosts the X Games sporting competition. The additional trains will run June 28-30; during the same period, reservations will be required on the Surfliners because of anticipated additional ridership, and the Rail 2 Rail and Metrolink […]
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CRESSON, Pa. – Noted railroad painter and illustrator J. Craig Thorpe will conduct a three-day artists’ workshop at The Station Inn railfan bed & breakfast in Cresson Aug. 23-25. Open to artists of all levels, the event will combine working experiences with discussions of approach, style, composition, form, lighting, and perspective. Those attending will visit the nearby Railroaders […]
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PENINSULA, Ohio — Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad President and CEO Joe Mazur will retire from the heritage railroad as of Sept. 30, the railroad announced Thursday. Mazur joined the railroad in March 2017 following a career in arena management and as President/CEO of International Soap Box Derby, the Akron, Ohio, organization where he had worked […]
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CHICAGO — Four private cars have made their way to the Windy City to participate in this weekend’s “Pullman Railroad Days: People, Progress and Innovation.” The event Saturday, June 1, and Sunday, June 2, is sponsored by the Historic Pullman Foundation in partnership with the National Park Service and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. […]
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URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign officially opened the National University Rail Center of Excellence with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday (May 29). The center is the first academic rail research and education center of excellence to be supported by the Federal Railroad Administration with the help of […]
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WASHINGTON — Canadian National has agreed to some of the conditions sought by a grain shipper group and the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of its proposed $230 million acquisition of Iowa Northern Railway. CN says it will allow IANR customers to arbitrate gateway disputes, a condition that the National Grain and Feed Association […]
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Railfan weekend Join Trains Magazine staff for a railfan weekend photo charter event in Rutland, Vt., on Sept. 28 and 29. We are celebrating Vermont Rail System’s 60th anniversary of the Green Mountain Railroad (Bellows Falls Line). We will be exploring the Vermont countryside with a relaxing ride on our exclusive chartered train. Motive power […]
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Unstoppable Thursday, June 20, 1968, began simply enough — clear, sunny, and warm. As a newly minted Santa Fe acting trainmaster working vacation relief out of Newton, Kan., I had been assigned by Superintendent Jimmy Fitzgerald — who later became vice president of operations — to monitor and expedite the movement of grain trains from […]
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