In 1981, I was a locomotive engineer for the Chicago & North Western Railway based out of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and operating an interdivisional run to Sioux City, Iowa. I made this run many times, but one trip taught me a lesson about troubleshooting a diesel locomotive — and about railroading. Most of the trains […]
WHITEMARSH TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Approximately 16 cars of a CSX Transportation train operating on a Norfolk Southern rail line derailed this morning (July 17) near Philadelphia, CSX said in a statement. The derailment occurred in Whitemarsh Township near the Joshua and Flourtown roads. CSX indicates one car containing hazardous materials is involved, but says there […]
LAC-MÉGANTIC, Quebec — Lawyers representing some of the residents whose land will be expropriated by the Canadian government for a planned Lac-Mégantic rail bypass are seeking an injunction to halt the process, the Canadian Press reports. The government announced it would pursue expropriation in February after it was unable to negotiate purchase of the necessary […]
NEW YORK — Increased service to Penn Station and more direct service to Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal are part of changes to the Long Island Rail Road schedule planned for Sept. 5, the LIRR announced on Friday. Those changes address two leading concerns voiced by passengers in the wake of the February schedule makeover that accompanied […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has published Requests for Qualifications for maintenance facilities in Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Seattle, part of a program build or upgrade more than 20 sites nationally for new trainsets. Two requests are currently active. One is for Seattle, where Amtrak is hoping to gain permission to close a street, […]
BEDFORD PARK, Ill. — A contract worker was killed Saturday morning in an accident at the CSX Transportation intermodal facility at Bedford Park, the Chicago Tribune reports. Jacory Ceaser, 24, of Chicago’s Roseland neighborhood, was killed about 12:30 a.m. when crushed between two intermodal chassis, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. The death […]
LAKELAND, Fla. — Amtrak’s Silver Star was involved in a derailment this evening (July 14) after a grade-crossing collision with a truck carrying automobiles, according to a WFTS-TV report. An Amtrak spokeswoman said the train’s lead locomotive derailed, and that the company was working with local emergency responders to move approximately 166 passengers and 10 […]
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Workers have returned to work at British Columbia ports after their union and employers reached a tentative agreement on Thursday, ending a 13-day strike. The two sides accepted terms drafted by a federal mediator on Thursday morning, about 10 minutes before a deadline set by Canadian labor minister Seamus O’Regan, according […]
BISMARCK, N.D. — The group seeking to prevent BNSF Railway from demolishing a 141-year-old bridge over the Missouri River is taking its long-running effort to the North Dakota Supreme Court. The Bismarck Tribune reports that the Friends of the Rail Bridge preservation group, joined by the Downtown Business Association of Bismarck, is seeking to overturn […]
CINCINNATI — Voters will have their say on the sale of the Cincinnati Southern Railway on Nov. 7. WXIX-TV reports that Thursday, the railway board of trustees voted unanimously to place the proposed sale of the line from Cincinnati to Chattanooga, Tenn., on the ballot. If a majority of voters approve, the nation’s only municipally […]
ORANGE, Calif. — With regular Pacific Surfliner service set to resume on Monday, July 17, the agency overseeing the Surfliners has announced plans to add three extra trains the weekend of July 21-23 to help serve three major events — Comic-Con International San Diego, the X Games in Ventura, and the opening of the summer […]
WASHINGTON — Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority officials have begun considering expansion of the DC Metrorail system, the Washington Post reports, and are weighing multiple proposals that include a new rail tunnel under the Potomac River. The plans come as the Metro system is facing a projected $750 million deficit in its next fiscal year, […]
