TORONTO — The union representing 2,200 GO Transit bus drivers, station attendants, safety officers, and maintenance workers says they will go on strike Oct. 31 if they do not reach a deal on a new contract. CityNews Toronto reports Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1587 President Rob Cormier said the union will walk out at 12:01 […]
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SALEM, Mass. — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and its contract commuter rail operator, Keolis, have added additional commuter rail service between Boston’s North Station and Salem, Mass., and between Salem, Beverly, and Newburyport, for the final two weekends of Salem’s Haunted Happenings event. “With historic crowds visiting Salem this Halloween season, we’re pleased to offer […]
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Iowa City City Council has approved the purchase of three residential properties for the site of a possible Amtrak station, the Daily Iowan newspaper reports. The three parcels are being purchased for $475,000. They would provide the location for a station should Amtrak launch a long-discussed Chicago-Quad Cities passenger service, […]
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PHILADELPHIA — The two construction workers killed last week when struck by a PATCO train on the Ben Franklin bridge were walking on a track that was supposed to have been shut down while concrete work was in progress, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The two were killed the night of Oct. 14 while working on […]
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MONTREAL — Operating as Amtk 694 (the train number Canadian National has always assigned to the southbound Adirondack while on CN rails), an Amtrak requalification run heads to Montreal’s Central Station on Thursday as it passes the mostly drained Peel Basin. While Amtrak service to Vancouver and Toronto was restored earlier this year, there is still […]
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MONTREAL — Unifor, Canada’s largest union, has opened bargaining with Canadian National for a new contract, the union said Wednesday. The union says it represents about 3,600 workers at CN terminals and headquarters across Canada, including mechanics, crane operators, machinists, electricians, and clericial, administrative, and customer-support workers. The current agreement expires on Dec. 31. “The […]
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LAC-MÉGANTIC, Quebec — The Canadian government has set new dates for public consultation on hydrology and mitigation in its deliberate process of building a rail bypass around Lac-Mégantic. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced Wednesday that online consultation will be held Oct. 24 to Nov. 25, along with three public information sessions: — An in-person, invitation-only […]
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MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada says in a statement to Trains News Wire that the addition of unoccupied cars at the rear of trains with its heritage stainless steel equipment was recommended by the third-party engineering firm it hired to conduct inspections. The move — to provide protection in case trains collide — was made […]
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ORNEVILLE, Maine — Three locomotives and six cars of a Canadian Pacific train derailed early this morning (Wednesday, Oct. 19) in Orneville, an uncorporated area also known as Southeast Piscataquis. WABI-TV reports the incident occurred about 3:15 a.m. and is attributed to a washout. The crew was not injured and no public safety issues have […]
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PITTSBURGH — Rail Development Corp., the Pittsburgh-based company which includes part ownership of the Iowa Interstate Railroad and a wide range of freight, logistics, and passenger operations in South America and Europe, is the newest member of the RailPulse coalition. RailPulse is working to bring widespread use of GPS and other telematics technologies to the […]
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NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit has agreed to upgrade five of its stations to make them compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey has announced. The settlement covers the New Brunswick, Newark Penn, Princeton Junction, Metropark, and Trenton stations. While all five are considered wheelchair […]
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FORT WORTH, Texas — There are plenty of barriers to be faced in equipping the U.S. freight car fleet with telematics, the use of GPS equipment and other sensors to provide real-time information about car location and all sorts of additional information. One is just getting all parties to agree on the benefits, and what […]
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