BOCA RATON, Fla. — CSX Transportation put a lot of effort into upgrading newly acquired property Pan Am Railways in 2022. That effort will continue this year, Ed Sparks, the railroad’s chief engineer, bridges, design, and construction, said Saturday. The plans for the former Pan Am trackage in New England was just one part of […]
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BOCA RATON, Fla. — It is probably no surprise that, as Kansas City Southern’s north-south main line becomes a focal point in its pending merger with Canadian Pacific, that route is also front and center in its capital spending plans for 2023, as well. A number of capacity projects on that route figured in the […]
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CHICAGO — The well-publicized snows that buried Buffalo, N.Y., and resulted in a lengthy cancellation of the New York/Boston-Chicago Lake Shore Limited haven’t been this winter’s only disruptor of Amtrak’s national network. Extreme weather since late December has also been responsible for two significant Amtrak long-distance train cancellations in the west. Flooding truncates Starlight The […]
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BOCA RATON, Fla. — Craig Rasmussen, BNSF Railway assistant vice president, engineering services and structures, had plenty of big projects to review during his presentation today (Friday, Jan. 6) at the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association Conference. But they all pale in comparison to the BIG project still to come — the Barstow International […]
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WASHINGTON – In the wake of a fatal accident on Norfolk Southern last month, the Federal Railroad Administration has issued a safety bulletin urging railroaders to conduct pre-departure inspections to ensure that no objects are protruding from freight cars. An NS conductor trainee was killed on Dec. 13 in Bessemer, Ala., when a metal object […]
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GATINEAU, Quebec — Track that buckled under a train as it was passing — because of “compressive thermal stress” reflecting high temperatures for several days — led to the derailment of a Canadian National train at Pangburn Station, New Brunswick, near Moncton, on Aug. 21, 2021, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in an […]
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WASHINGTON — An operator who “exceeded maximum authorized speed due to his loss of situational awareness” was the probable cause of a July 2021 collision between two Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority light rail vehicles, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report released Thursday, Jan. 5. The operator, who told authorities that he may […]
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BOSTON — A state legislative committee has proposed shrinking the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority as one way to address the agency’s widespread safety issues. Boston.com reports the Massachusett’s legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation has suggested in a report issued earlier this week that the MBTA be relieved of its commuter rail and ferry operations, as […]
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BOCA RATON, Fla. — To a degree, the debate over one- or two-person crews is academic for Michael Miller, the president of Genesee & Wyoming’s North American operations. “We don’t have many operations where we would have one-man crews,” Miller said today (Thursday, Jan. 5) during the “fireside chat” closing the first day’s general session […]
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BOCA RATON, Fla. — When it comes to capital plans, Norfolk Southern is holding steady. The railroad is at a “steady state” in basics such as rail and tie replacement, Ed Boyle, vice president of engineering, said Thursday at the annual NRC Conference, meaning its goals for 2023 are similar to its achievements in 2022. […]
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BOCA RATON, Fla. — Ties are a big topic at the annual NRC Conference — just about every railroad mentions how many ties it will replace in the coming year —so it makes sense that Shane Keller, Union Pacific’s vice president of engineering, wanted to highlight UP’s effort to improve the tie-replacement process. Keller was […]
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WASHINGTON — A DC Metrorail operator was arrested on suspicion of operating a train while intoxicated in a Dec. 23 incident, the news site Greater Greater Washington reports, citing a Metro Transit Police department document. Arrest came after the Blue Line train missed a stop at Van Dorn Street, then halted between stations for some […]
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