Progress reported in Gotthard Base Tunnel repairs

Derailed cars and workmen inside tunnel

Freight trains should be able to begin using the Gotthard Base Tunnel on Wednesday, Aug. 23, Swiss national rail operator SBB said Friday in its latest update on repairs following an Aug. 10 derailment inside the world’s longest rail tunnel. Thirty cars of a northbound freight train derailed because of a broken wheel, causing damage […]

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Restraining-rail issue disrupts Ottawa light rail service

Red and white light rail trainset in station

OTTAWA, Ontario — Service on Ottawa’s light rail Confederation Line was reduced on Thursday, just four days after it resumed following a four-week shutdown, because of issues with a restraining rail on a curve between the Hurdman and uOttawa stations. All trains were routed onto the eastbound track between those two stations when it was […]

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Derailments of the curious kind

MRRNS0717_01

Derailments of the curious kind: Several months ago, my operations chief Gordy Spiering and I were orbiting a couple trains on my N scale layout for a group of visitors and the same boxcar kept derailing at the west end switch in the town of Tehachapi. In a situation like that the show must go […]

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Ottawa light rail expansion project to see further delays

Construction on light rail line below roadway bridge

OTTAWA, Ontario — The reopening of Ottawa’s light rail Trillium Line, the diesel-powered, north-south route which has been closed since May 2020 for expansion, has been further delayed and will not come until “the end of the year,” the Ottawa Citizen reports. The 16-kilometer (9.9-mile), eight-station southward extension of the Trillium line was supposed to […]

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Gotthard Base Tunnel repairs will extend into 2024

Passenger train exits tunnel and rounds curve

The Gotthard Base Tunnel sustained far more damage than had previous been believed in last week’s derailment, and it will likely be early 2024 before both bores of the world’s longest rail tunnel are back in service, the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) announced today (Aug. 16). The tunnel has been closed since Aug. 10, when […]

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Broken wheel blamed for derailment in Gotthard tunnel (updated)

Damaged railcar and doors in tunnel

A broken wheel is the likely cause of last week’s derailment in the Gotthard Base Tunnel, public broadcaster SRF reported Sunday, citing information from the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB). A Google translation of the SRF report says automatic equipment showed the train was “sound” as it entered the 35.5-mile tunnel from the south […]

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Seattle light rail to see single-track disruption

Map showing changes on segment of Seattle light rail line between Aug. 14-16.

SEATTLE — Sound Transit’s light rail No. 1 Line will see significant service disruptions through a seven-station stretch between downtown and the SoDo area this week as workers a section of sinking track related to soil conditions. Work began over the weekend, with rail service halted Saturday and Sunday and replaced by shuttle buses between […]

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Ottawa light rail set for full return

Red and white light rail train in station

OTTAWA, Ontario — Twenty-eight days after service was abruptly halted, Ottawa’s light rail Confederation Line light rail was slated to resume operation today at 5 a.m. EDT, using shorter trainsets while work continues to address axle bearing issues. CTV News reports plans call for 11 single-car trains to provide service on 5-minute headways over the […]

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