PITTSBURGH — Wabtec Corp. has signed agreement to acquire Beena Vision, which manufactures machine-vision-based wayside inspection systems, from Sunnyvale, Calif., technology firm Trimble. Beena Vision’s rolling-stock wayside detectors assess components ranging from wheel surface condition to full train inspection for trains in motion., allowing companies to manage fleet maintenance through sensor and image-based inspection systems. […]
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WASHINGTON — Switching details and conflicting traffic modeling assumptions dominated discussions at the Surface Transportation Board’s hearing into Amtrak plans to launch passenger service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. The seventh and eighth days of testimony and cross-examination, spread over three weeks, on the dispute over plans for two daily Amtrak round trips precedes […]
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TORONTO — The government of Ontario has awarded a contract for major expansion of Go Transit service in the Toronto area, a plan calling for more than 120 miles of new track and electrification of more than 370 miles of the system. The electrification will also bring new trains capable of speeds exceeding 85 mph, […]
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OKAYAMA, Japan — A Japanese railway driver who sued over being docked one minute’s pay will have the money returned posthumously, a court has ruled. But his request for 2.2 million yen (more than $17,000) for emotional distress was dismissed, Kyodo News reports. The driver sued last year after he was docked 56 yen (currently […]
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WASHINGTON — Four of the seven Amtrak long-distance trains currently operating five days per week will return to daily schedules the week of May 23, according to information obtained by Trains News Wire. Two others will continue to run on the five-day-per-week schedule, while cancellation of Silver Meteor service to and from Florida will continue […]
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DEERFIELD, Ill. — Union Pacific’s plan to begin metering traffic as of today will curtail fertilizer shipments and put crops at risk, a major fertilizer producer says. “The timing of this action by Union Pacific could not come at a worse time for farmers,” CF Industries CEO Tony Will said in a statement on Thursday. […]
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WASHINGTON — Two days of testimony that made up the second week of the Surface Transportation Board’s hearing on Amtrak Gulf Coast service delved into the intricacies of traffic modeling and its data inputs, and made clear both that Amtrak had no role in that modeling, and that consideration of changes to freight operations were […]
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MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada has announced plans to restore most service by June, ending suspensions triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the previously announced return of two weekly round trips for the flagship, Toronto-Vancouver Canadian, plans announced last week will see three weekly round trips for the Montreal-Halifax Ocean, tentatively beginning June […]
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PINE BLUFF, Ark. — Union Pacific is recalling furloughed workers to reopen its locomotive shop in Pine Bluff, Ark., the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports. UP spokesman Mike Jaixen told the newspaper that he did not have information on the number of workers being recalled, but noted that open positions in Pine Bluff include boilermakers, electricians, mechanics, […]
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JUPITER, Fla. — Replacing a 96-year-old, bascule drawbridge while keeping both rail and river traffic moving requires round-the-clock activity and lots of compromise. This was obvious Sunday, April 10, with the latest step in the project to replace a Florida East Coast Railway bridge over the Loxahatchee River at Jupiter, improving both operational reliability and […]
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WASHINGTON – The trade group representing sugar shippers has told federal regulators that rail service problems have forced some of its members to stop or curtail production of food and beverages. The Sweetener Users Association, which wrote to the Surface Transportation Board on Wednesday, is the latest trade group to complain about poor rail service […]
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OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific’s request that shippers reduce the number of private freight cars in their pipelines – or face strict quotas starting on Monday – has been met with a mix of understanding and outrage. Some shippers say they understand UP’s need to reduce car inventory to help ease congestion that has slowed […]
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