ADAMANA Ariz. — One locomotive and 21 cars of a BNSF Railway train derailed this morning in eastern Arizona, KNXV-TV reports. No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were involved in the incident that occurred about 7:30 a.m. about 20 miles east of Holbrook, Ariz., and about 45 miles from the New Mexico border. […]
LOS ANGELES — Parallel Systems today for the first time demonstrated the platooning capability of the autonomous, battery-electric container cars that it is developing for short-haul intermodal service. The self-propelled cars lack traditional Janney railroad couplers. Instead, they can operate in platoons through bumper-to-bumper contact and coordinating tractive effort among all of the cars in […]
WASHINGTON — As the shutdown of the Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, rail gateways enters its third day, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has given no indication of when it will allow freight traffic to resume. Customs officials closed the gateways — the second and third busiest rail border crossings — at […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration has released a proposal requiring transit agencies to assess risk to their workers and identify strategies to improve worker safety. The proposed general directive, published today in the Federal Register, is open to comment through Feb. 20, 2024. “Assaults on transit workers are unacceptable,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said […]
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Fort Lauderdale city commissioners voted 3-2 on Tuesday night to accept a new bridge as the replacement for the existing downtown New River drawbridge used by Florida East Coast Railway and Brightline if a tunnel is too expensive, despite the ongoing concerns of the city’s mayor that the tunnel is needed […]
PITTSBURGH — The city’s transit agency has applied for a $100 million federal grant as part of its process to replace its current fleet of light rail vehicles, the Pittsburgh Union Progress reports. Pittsburgh Regional Transit is looking to replace its entire 81-car fleet of 53 cars built by Siemens AG in the 1980s, with […]
Add it up — a million here, a million there — and soon you’ve got some serious money. Looking back on 2023 in railroad preservation, the large sums secured for new museum facilities adds up to be the biggest story. The tally sheet shows the State of Nevada budgeted $23 million for a new visitors’ […]
A major accident in the world’s longest rail tunnel, and the continuing role of railways in the Ukraine war, comprise the second part of our look at the top international rail stories of 2023. Switzerland’s Gotthard Base Tunnel closed The derailment of a freight train in the world’s longest rail tunnel on Aug. 10 led […]
TORONTO — Toronto’s transit agency is preparing to sell the rolling stock from its defunct Scarborough Rapid Transit line to Detroit, the CBC reports. The Detroit Transportation Corp. has approved purchasing the equipment and parts for up to $1 million and would also cover the transportation costs, DTC General Manager Robert Cramer told the CBC. […]
RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Rail Division has awarded $10.2 million for its share of 10 rail infrastructure projects at state short lines and ports. The state provides a 50% share of funding for the projects, which will improve 27 miles of track and 14 bridges, through its Freight Rail and […]
MILWAUKEE — Amtrak is reinstating monthly passes on the Milwaukee-Chicago Hiawatha service as of January. The monthly pass option had been eliminated when variable pricing was introduced on the route in November, as part of Amtrak’s nationwide move to a two-tiered pricing system [see “Variable pricing begins …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 1, 2023]. Commuters […]
The year 2023 has seen major new rail lines enter service around the world, with new high-speed lines opening as far apart as Spain and Indonesia. High speed developments weren’t quite as positive in the United Kingdom, where part of the HS2 system was axed by the government. And new railway technology, in the form […]
