FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway aims to take over Montana Rail Link operations on Jan. 1, 2024. Federal regulators in March approved the early termination of Montana Rail Link’s lease of the former Northern Pacific main line between Jones Junction, Mont., and Sandpoint, Idaho. Although the Surface Transportation Board’s green light meant that BNSF […]
INTERLAKEN, Switzerland — The innovative Golden Pass Express gauge-changing train is back in service after through operations were suspended in February. The train offers one-seat rides from Montreaux, on the shores of Lake Geneva, to Interlaken in the heart of the Swiss Alps. It runs on the mountainous meter-gauge Montreux Berner Oberland Bahn (abbreviated MOB) […]
MIAMI — Commuter operator Tri-Rail has received clearance to begin running test trains into Brightline’s MiamiCentral station next week. WLRN public broadcasting reporter Danny Rivero has posted on Twitter a letter from Florida East Coast Railway that grants Tri-Rail’s parent, the South Florida Regional Transit Authority, authorization to run test trains into the Brightline station […]
NEWARK, N.J. — The National Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen will pay $50,000 to NJ Transit to settle a claim over an illegal job action on last year’s Juneteenth holiday, the transit agency announced Thursday. Engineers did not report for their assignments on June 17, 2022, leading to the cancellation of nearly 300 trains. […]
WASHINGTON — A Chicago Transit Authority customer service assistant fell onto the electrified third rail when attempting to cross the right-of-way at the L’s La Salle/Van Buren station and died by electrocution, the National Transportation Safety Board says in its report on the July 16, 2022, accident. The final accident report was issued Thursday. The […]
Summer rail travel tips and challenges Amtrak has a problem and it’s too much travel demand for the equipment assigned on its long distance-routes. This translates to a difficult summer for U.S. travelers seeking to ride the rails. In addition, since the company utilizes inventory “yield management” — in which fares rise as seats or […]
HOUSTON — The race to develop autonomous freight railroad systems has another entrant: Autonomous Intermodal LLC on Wednesday announced that it’s working on a new intermodal system that would automate trains and terminals. The backbone of AIM’s system is an integral 4,000-foot double-stack train and 9,000-horsepower locomotive. Each 4,000-foot double-stack platform can be combined into […]
SAN FRANCISCO — The Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union have reached a tentative labor agreement covering 29 West Coast ports, ending more than a year of negotiations in a dispute that had seen work stoppages at major ports of entry. The settlement has major implications for the rail industry given the […]
LANCASTER, Minn. — A section of U.S. Route 59 remains closed near the Canadian border more than two weeks after the derailment of a CPKC freight train, and clean-up efforts will keep it closed for most of another week. The derailment of 24 cars of the CPKC train took place on May 31 about 9½ […]
LAC-MÉGANTIC, Quebec — Transport Canada’s request to expropriate land for the planned rail bypass around Lac-Mégantic has been approved, the Canadian government announced Wednesday, setting the stage for the government to take possession of the land on Aug. 1. “We understand how this may be difficult for some,” Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in a […]
GATINEAU, Quebec — Matters regarding unplanned or uncontrolled movements of trains or equipment are the primary unresolved matter in the rail industry for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, which this week issued its annual assessment of responses to the board’s outstanding safety recommendations. Across air, marine, and rail transportation, the TSB issued 62 recommendations […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic continued its recent pattern in the week ending June 10, with carload volume showing a slight increase while intermodal traffic remained down significantly compared to the same week a year ago. Statistics from the Association of American Railroads show total weekly traffic of 471,141 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease […]
