DES MOINES, Iowa — Legislation seeking to limit the length of freight trains in the state of Iowa passed its first legislative hurdle Thursday, moving through a subcommittee to the state House Transportation Committee. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports a three-member subcommittee voted unanimously to advance House Study Bill 88, which would limit freight trains […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Maryland light rail operator charged in grade-crossing death
LINTHICUM, Md. — The operator of a Maryland Transit Adminstration light rail train has been changed in the death of a 17-year-old killed in a grade crossing accident last February, the Baltimore Sun reports. Tavon Smith has been charged with negligent manslaughter, criminal negligence, and reckless endangerment, according to court records, in the death of […]
CRRC won’t be able to meet schedule calling for three-year-late delivery of MBTA cars
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority hasn’t received any new rapid-transit cars from CRRC’s Springfield, Mass., factory in seven months, and the company won’t meet a new schedule calling for completion of its 404-car order by September 2026, the agency’s board of directors was told today (Thursday, Jan. 26). And the long-term future of […]
Ottawa to seek settlement in light rail dispute
OTTAWA, Ontario — The Ottawa city council will seek a negotiated settlement in its long-running dispute over the builder of its troubled light rail Confederation Line, the CBC reports. The council directed its head of transit services to negotiate a settlement with builder Rideau Transit Group after spending five hours in a closed-door update on […]
New York governor, MTA chief help inaugurate Grand Central Madison service
NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul and MTA CEO Janno Lieber were among an estimated 100 passengers on the first Long Island Rail Road train today (Wednesday, Jan. 25) to Grand Central Madison, the new Manhattan station deep beneath Grand Central Terminal. “Grand Central Madison is a game changer for New Yorkers, and I look […]
CN operations chief Ed Harris: ‘Tighter schedule adherence … is near and dear to my heart’
MONTREAL — When it comes right down to it, railroading is not a complicated business, Canadian National Chief Operating Officer Ed Harris says. It’s all about sticking to a schedule, following the operating plan no matter what, and running safely. Harris, who served as CN’s operations boss from 2005 to 2007, was named COO on […]
Grand Central Madison, terminal for MTA’s East Side Access, debuts
NEW YORK — The path to the opening of Grand Central Madison — the new Long Island Rail Road terminal in Midtown Manhattan, deep beneath Grand Central Terminal — has been long, arduous, and incredibly expensive. Now that it has arrived, officials at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority hope it will be viewed for its transformational […]
Genesee & Wyoming agrees to settlement over Clean Air Act violations (updated)
WASHINGTON — Genesee & Wyoming will spend up to $42 million to correct Clean Air Act violations regarding locomotives under an agreement announced Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency. A complaint that was also filed Tuesday alleged that G&W and a number of its subsidiaries operated diesel locomotives with rebuilt […]
Massachusetts legislation calls for MBTA commuter-line electrification
BOSTON — Bills have been introduced in both houses of the Massachusetts legislature that would require electrification of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail lines by the end of 2035, the Boston Herald reports. The bills include an ambitious goal of electrifying by Dec. 31, 2024, three segments that serve what are defined as environmental […]
MTA to begin service to Grand Central Madison on Wednesday
NEW YORK — More than a decade after it was first projected to begin — and after more than three weeks of ventilation-fan issues that delayed a final effort to open before the end of 2022 — New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority will open its East Side Access project on Wednesday, bringing Long Island Rail […]
CSX train derails in Ohio
GREENWICH, Ohio — Twenty cars of a CSX Transportation freight train derailed around midday Monday in Greenwich. There were no reports of injuries or of incidents involving cargo, but a power outage was reported in the area. WYKC-TV reports about 100 people were left without power. Images on the station’s website show the incident occurred […]
Pacific Surfliner to resume weekend service between LA, San Diego on Feb. 4
ORANGE, Calif. — Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service between Los Angeles and San Diego, suspended since Sept. 30 because of an unstable hillside in San Clemente, Calif., will be restored on weekends beginning Feb. 4. In announcing the partial restoration of service, the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo Corridor Agency said tracks in the San Clemente […]
