Bevil joins board of Short Line Safety Institute

Woman in dark clothing

WASHINGTON — Kristin Bevil, general counsel and chief legal officer of Pinsly Railroad, has been named to the board of directors for the Short Line Safety Institute. Tom Murta, the institute’s executive director, said in a press release that Bevil’s “experience in guiding short line railroad management in issues as diverse as litigation, governance, regulatory […]

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Japanese railway considers bullet-train freight service

White high speed train in Japan

TOKYO — Japanese rail operator JR East is considering adding add freight cars to its Shinkansen trains, and may develop entire freight bullet trains, the Japan News reports. A host of issues remain before the launch of freight-only trains, however, among them facilities to handle the cargo and track space on some lines. But the […]

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Canada’s Unifor to vote on strike against CPKC

Logo of Canadian union Unifor

CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian union Unifor will vote on a potential strike against CPKC, saying negotiations with the railroad have reached an impasse. The union’s 101R, which represents approximately 1,200 CPKC employees nationwide in mechanical trades, said in a Friday, Nov. 29, announcement that it would hold the strike vote “in the coming weeks.” The […]

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Canadian government to help fund new Toronto subway cars

Logo of the Toronto Transit Commission

TORONTO — The Toronto Transit Commission will receive almost Ca$1.2 billion in federal funding, with more than half ticketed for 55 new subway cars, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland announced on Friday, Nov. 29. Some $758 million of the federal funds, to be provided over the next decade from the […]

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BLET members ratify contract with Florida, Gulf & Atlantic

Logo of Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen at the Florida, Gulf & Atlantic Railway have ratified a five-year agreement, their first since joining the union last year, the BLET has announced. The agreement, ratified Nov. 21 and announced this week, establishes such work rules as a seniority roster, grievance procedures, […]

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FTA issues safety advisory on transit street running

Purple and silver light rail train rounds 90-degree curve

WASHINGTON — A safety advisory issued this week by the Federal Transit Administration is asking agencies overseeing transit operators to look more closely at street-running rail operations, noting the heightened risk of incidents including fatalities. The advisory issued on Monday, Nov. 25, notes that the number of incidents at street intersection grade crossings are about […]

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Weekly U.S. rail traffic shows major bump

Weekly table showing U.S. carload rail traffic by commodity type, plus overall intermodal volume

WASHINGTON — Likely because of the difference in where the Thanksgiving holiday falls this year, weekly U.S. rail traffic shows a major volume increase for the week ending Nov. 23, 2024. Total weekly traffic was 520,798 carloads and intermodal units, a 25.6% increase over the same week last year — when Thanksgiving was on Nov. […]

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VIA move against CN with Canadian regulator stalls

Passenger and freight train meet at junction

MONTREAL — In a move similar to Amtrak’s efforts to address issues with host railroads with the Surface Transportation Board, VIA Rail Canada has asked the Canadian Transportation Agency to impose a new track access agreement with Canadian National Railway. But VIA’s filing, made in June 2023, has gone nowhere, the Canadian Press reports, in […]

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First arch now in place on New Jersey’s Portal North Bridge

View of bridge under construction with tugboat in foreground

KEARNY, N.J. — The first of three massive arches that are part of the new Portal North Bridge has arrived by barge and been lifted into place at the construction site on the Hackensack River, a significant advance in the project to replace the current structure, a long-time operational headache on the Northeast Corridor. Three […]

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