ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern is installing Wabtec’s Yard Planner system at Norris Yard in Irondale, Ala., as part of an effort to improve the hump yard’s efficiency and make service more consistent. “Norfolk Southern is the first Class I railroad to implement Yard Planner and we are already seeing greater consistency of car movement,” Joe […]
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey legislators on Monday held a hearing on a bill that would require two-person crews, limit train lengths, and mandate wayside defect detectors for “high-hazard trains,” those transporting flammable or hazardous materials. The hearing on S4049, introduced in June and sponsored by state Sens. Patrick Diegnan Jr. (D-Middlesex) and Gordon Johnson […]
WASHINGTON — Federal regulation of railroads preempts state laws regarding regulation of grade crossings, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar has told the U.S. Supreme Court in a filing on behalf of the federal government. The filing, reported by WXIX-TV, came as the court considers whether to hear Ohio’s appeal of case regarding the ability of […]
CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority’s Yellow Line remains shut down today (Monday, Nov. 27) as the Thanksgiving holiday period ends, some 11 days after the Nov. 16 collision between a Yellow Line train and a snowplow that injured 38 people. WLS-TV reports that the CTA has not offered any estimate when the line will […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX says a failed wheel bearing caused the Nov. 22 derailment that led to an evacuation of residents in Livington, Ky., on Thanksgiving. In a Sunday statement, the railroad said it has completed the removal of all 16 railcars involved in the incident that occurred about 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, and has […]
CHICAGO — Airports and highways generally get the most media attention at Thanksgiving because they accommodate the majority of the people on the move during the nation’s busiest travel period. Passenger rail did get rare coverage last week on “CBS Mornings” with coverage of Brightline including a live shot and an interview with Amtrak President […]
LONDON — Since the Channel Tunnel connecting Britain and France opened in 1994, a high speed passenger service operated by Eurostar has connected London, Paris and Brussels (extended to Amsterdam in 2018). Although competition on the route has been theoretically possible for decades, none has started — but this may be about to change as no […]
WOODSTOWN, N.J. — SMS Rail Lines Alco 0-6-0 locomotive No. 9 has been certified for operation by the Federal Railroad Administration after a 14-year restoration at the SMS shops in Bridgeport, N.J. The locomotive was built for the U.S. Army in 1942, working first at Fort Dix, N.J., and at Fort Eustis, Va., as No. […]
LIVINGSTON, Ky. — Residents evacuated after a Wednesday derailment of a CSX Transportation freight train are being allowed to return home after a sulphur fire was extinguished this afternoon. CSX said in an update at 4 p.m. EST today (Nov. 23) that the railroad and local emergency responders had extinguished the fire, and air monitoring […]
LIVINGSTON, Ky. — Spilled sulphur continued to burn this morning at the site of a derailed CSX Transportation train in eastern Kentucky, extending the evacuation for the town of about 200 people some 60 miles south of Louisville. CSX said in a statement at 7:30 a.m. EST that the derailment involves 16 cars; in addition […]
CSX Santa Train The CSX Santa Train, enjoying new life after a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, again delighted children and adults along its 110-mile former Clinchfield Railroad route between Shelby, Ky., and Kingsport, Tenn. This year’s train featured a new “Santa Car” rebuilt from a former Pan Am Railways office car, as well […]
LIVINGSTON, Ky. — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has declared a state of emergency in Rockcastle County, in the remote eastern part of the state, following the derailment of a CSX Transportation train earlier today. About a dozen homes in a remote area of eastern Kentucky were evacuated following the derailment, WLEX-TV reports. CSX said that […]
