Canadian Pacific Kansas City was the only Class I railroad that was able to eke out higher volume last year. CPKC’s traffic was up a scant 0.1% in 2023, which was a down year for North American freight volume. Rail traffic in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico was down a combined 2.1% last year, according […]
WASHINGTON — National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy blasted the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for its “poor safety culture” in a press briefing today (Thursday, Jan. 4) on the final report into the Oct. 12, 2021, derailment of a DC Metrorail train in Arlington, Va., saying the agency’s issues with WMATA include some […]
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A bill requiring Florida’s Department of Transportation to preserve a corridor between Orlando and Tampa for future Brightline expansion has been filed for the state legislative session that begins next week. The Brightline requirement, preserving a route along Interstate 4, is just one provision of SB1226, filed by state Sen. Nick DiCeglie […]
PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Reading & Northern saw double-digit growth in both freight and passenger traffic in 2023, the second consecutive year with such increases, the railroad said in a year-end business review. The Pennsylvania regional railroad handled more than 37,000 cars of freight, up from 33,000 in 2022. Growth was boosted in particular by […]
CHICAGO —Metra will close its remaining ticket windows in conjunction with the upcoming revision of its fare structure, the commuter operator has announced. Ticket windows at outlying stations on the BNSF line will close next Monday, Jan. 8; all other ticket windows, including at downtown stations, will close effective Feb. 1, when the new, simplified […]
MESA, Ariz. — Three people — the train’s operator and two passengers — were injured Wednesday when a Valley Metro light train collided with a garbage truck and derailed. The collision occurred about 9:30 a.m. near the intersection of Main Street and Robson in Mesa. Those injured were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, KSAZ-TV reported, citing […]
WATERLOO, Ontario — The Waterloo Central Railway has purchased former Canadian Pacific Railway G5c 4-6-2 No. 1238 and intends to restore the locomotive to operation, according to the Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society, the nonprofit organization that operates the heritage railway. The locomotive was purchased for $150,000 from Vintage Locomotive Society Inc. of Winnipeg, Manitoba, […]
WASHINGTON – U.S. rail traffic declined 2.3% in 2023, with intermodal down 4.9% and carload traffic up 0.7% compared to 2022, the Association of American Railroads reported today. “Total U.S. rail carloads were up 2% in the fourth quarter of 2023 over the fourth quarter of 2022, while U.S. intermodal was up 5.5% over the […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – CSX’s eighth heritage locomotive is a salute to the New York Central. The ES44AH, which carries No. 1853 for the Central’s founding year, made its debut today. It took the Waycross, Ga., paint shop crew 22 days to adorn the locomotive with the Central’s classic lightning stripe scheme. The New York Central […]
Why is it that no one notices railroads until there’s a derailment, blocked grade crossing, or a massive supply chain problem like we saw in 2022? If it weren’t for bad press railroads wouldn’t get any at all. It’s as if the railroad industry – all 140,000 miles of it – is invisible until things […]
ORINDA, Calif. — Bay Area Rapid Transit officials are looking at human error as the most likely cause of Monday’s derailment of a train that injured nine people, a member of the agency’s board of directors said Tuesday. Debora Allen said interviews of operating staff are continuing, but that the agency has largely ruled out […]
CHICAGO — Two architectural design companies and Amtrak are soliciting input from people who frequent Chicago Union Station before embarking on a renovation project at the busy facility. The outreach is part of a process to determine the latest round of improvements being funded in part by a recent Federal-State Partnership grant [see “Chicago Union […]
