JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX’s Pride in Service initiative was awarded Gold in Engage for Good’s 22nd Annual Halo Awards for Best Employee Engagement Initiative and Silver for Best Direct Service Initiative. The honor recognizes CSX’s partnership and support for Wounded Warrior Project’s drone training program. The program provides veterans with initial training to become certified […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration today announced final rules that will require railroads to develop certification and training programs for train dispatchers and signal employees. Unlike with conductors and locomotive engineers, there previously have been no federal regulations mandating specific training requirements, safety and knowledge checks, and verification of safety records for dispatchers and […]
Well, I put a bee in Jim Vena’s bonnet when I wrote that railroads should thank the Federal Railroad Administration for its new two-person train crew rule. The thrust of that column last month: Service would suffer if the Class I railroads were to go to engineer-only operation because of delays related to having ground-based […]
KARRATHA, Western Australia — Rio Tinto has fully reopened its mining railroad in Western Australia’s Pilbara region after the collision last week involving two autonomous trains, with the Australian Financial Review reporting the mining company has suspended a procedure known as “on-site override” while investigation into the incident continues. One line of the two-track main […]
WASHINGTON — Beginning June 1, Amtrak plans to restore a dining car to the New York-New Orleans Crescent. However, initially only sleeping car passengers will be allowed to use it, and the food served will continue to be reheated “flexible” meals. As reported in the Rail Passengers Association’s weekly Hotline email, Amtrak senior leadership confirmed […]
EAST CHICAGO, Ind. — The Norfolk & Western Business Car 300 Preservation Society unveiled the restored car on Saturday with an open house at repair and maintenance firm Professional Locomotive Services. Along with tours of the car — built in 1917 and modernized in 1955 — and displays of PLS equipment, visitors were treated to […]
CHICAGO — Metra has launched a rider survey to help shape its future scheduling and infrastructure plans to meet its goal of becoming a “regional rail” operation — one providing more service at all times rather than focusing on weekday commuter-rush trains. The commuter operator has already taken some steps to increase off-peak service, such […]
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Norfolk Southern on Thursday donated its station in East Palestine to the city, following up on a pledge made last year in the wake of the February derailment and chemical release in the community. The Times Leader newspaper reports that NS CEO Alan Shaw turned over the keys to the building […]
NAPLES, Fla. — One firefighter was injured in a fire at a Progress Rail facility in Naples early this morning (Friday, May 17). WFTX-TV reports 16 people were in the building at the time the fire broke out, but all evacuated safely. Twenty fire units and 41 firefighters responded to the incident at a single-story […]
ALBANY, N.Y. — Amtrak and Canadian National Railway have reached agreement on track maintenance in Canada to avoid a repeat of the issues that sidelined Adirondack service last summer, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) announced today (Friday, May 17). Trackwork on the CN portion of the Adirondack route in Canada will be performed during the […]
RICHMOND HILL, Ontario — A Canadian Pacific crew applied an insufficient amount of force during a hand-brake test, and therefore did not set enough hand brakes to prevent a runaway-car incident at CP’s Toronto Yard, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada determined in its investigation into a March 13, 2022, incident. The board released its […]
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report on the April 26 derailment of a BNSF Railway train near the Arizona-New Mexico state line — an incident that led to a breach of tank cars carrying propane and fire that closed Interstate 40. No one was injured in the incident. Interstate […]
