MT. SHASTA, Calif. — The man killed in a Christmas Day shooting by a police office on board Amtrak’s Coast Starlight was disabled and suffered from mental health issues, his mother told the Redding Record Searchlight. Nicholas Detweiler Haritoudis, 32, was a train passenger, traveling from Klamath Falls, Ore., to California’s Sonoma County, when was […]
Some New York subway service restored; NTSB investigation begins
NEW YORK — New York City Transit’s 1, 2, and 3 subway lines remain blocked by the remnants of a collision and derailment as of this evening (Friday, Jan. 5), but additional service has been restored, the transit agency announced. At least 24 people were injured in the collision and derailment of a No. 1 […]
Amtrak announces service changes, cancellations in advance of winter storm forecasts
NEW YORK — Amtrak has cancelled or modified service for a number of trains in the Northeast beginning on Saturday, and taken similar steps for services in and around the Midwest beginning Sunday, according to a service advisory posted this evening (Friday, Jan. 5) on the Amtrak website and the Amtrak Alerts feed on social […]
Tri-Rail sets date to launch long-planned service to downtown Miami
MIAMI — South Florida’s Tri-Rail will launch its long-delayed service to and from Brightline’s downtown MiamiCentral station on Saturday, Jan. 13, the commuter rail operator announced today (Friday, Jan. 5). Service will begin as a shuttle between the Metrorail Transfer Station in Hialeah on the current Tri-Rail route and MiamiCentral. Tri-Rail is terming the first […]
New York subway disruption continues following Thursday collision (updated)
NEW YORK — Subway service remains disrupted in parts of Manhattan to begin today (Friday, Jan. 5) following Thursday’s low-speed collision between two trains just outside the 96th Street station on the 1, 2, and 3 lines. The incident involving a No. 1 train carrying about 300 people and an out-of-service No. 1 train that […]
STB seeks nominees for new Passenger Rail Advisory Committee
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board is seeking nominees for its newly formed Passenger Rail Advisory Committee, with nominations for the 18 positions due by Feb. 5. “The Board seeks to fill all PRAC positions with active and engaged transportation professionals to help us more fully understand the complexities of passenger rail issues,” STB Chairman […]
Norfolk Southern’s first Climate Transition Plan sets targets for greenhouse gas reductions
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern on Thursday released its inaugural Climate Transition Plan, which calls for significant improvements in fuel efficiency and increased use of renewable energy and biofuels. “Reducing the environmental impact of our operations is driven by our commitment to a cleaner and better planet for our employees, our customers, and our communities for […]
An engineer’s life: Mojave Green
Mojave Subdivision You have heard me mention in a couple of previous stories that I’m proud to be qualified on three different mountain grades; Stampede Pass (former Northern Pacific), my home territory, Stevens Pass (Great Northern), and Tehachapi Pass (Southern Pacific/Santa Fe) on the Mojave Subdivision. How did I end up in southern California, far […]
BART train briefly headed on to wrong track prior to derailment
ORINDA, Calif. — An error that sent the train onto the wrong track at an interlocking preceded Monday’s derailment of a Bay Area Rapid Transit train, according to a BART narrative of events that led to the derailment of two cars and a fire. Nine people were injured in the incident about 9 a.m. on […]
CTA to resume Yellow Line operations on Friday, ending 50-day shutdown
CHICAGO — Service on the Chicago Transit Authority’s Yellow Line — the 4.7-mile route colloquially known as the Skokie Swift — will resume Friday, Jan. 5, ending a 50-day suspension following a collision between a Yellow Line train and a snow-clearing machine being used for training. Service will resume at approximately 4:45 a.m. Yellow Line […]
New York subway trains collide at low speed, derailing one; at least 24 injured (updated)
NEW YORK — A New York City Transit subway train collided with an out-of-service train this afternoon (Thursday, Jan. 4) on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, derailing one train and injuring at least 24 people. The New York Times reports that the accident at about 3 p.m. involved a northbound No. 1 train moving at slow […]
The 1,000th issue of ‘Trains’ Magazine
Trains Magazine (1940-today) At a chaotic time in history — World War II, atomic bombs, the birth of the Cold War — founder Al Kalmbach published the first issue of Trains Magazine. Many great things were happening in the 1940s alongside the many bad. For instance, the Slinky was also invented around this time. Trains […]
