NEW YORK — A misaligned switch — incorrectly shown to dispatchers as being correctly aligned for a straight-ahead move — was the cause of last week’s derailment of a Long Island Rail Road train at Hall Interlocking in Queens, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said today (Aug. 11). Thirteen people were injured, two seriously, in the […]
FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Seminole Gulf Railway, which sustained major damage last October from Hurricane Ian, has gradually reopened its damaged right-of-way and should have operations fully restored by the end of the year, WBBH-TV reports. Six bridges were destroyed along the railroad’s route south from Arcadia, Fla., where it interchanges with CSX, through […]
CLEVELAND — Norfolk Southern has agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the union representing maintenance-of-way employees to improve safety at the site of the Feb. 3 East Palestine, Ohio, derailment, according to a Wednesday OSHA announcement. The settlement stems from OSHA enforcement inspections that began in March to […]
SANDPOINT, Idaho — Thanks to an all-day work window on Aug. 6, 2023, the final track segments have been put into place to complete BNSF Railway’s 2-mile double-tracking project at the east end of its busy “Funnel” between Spokane, Wash., and Sandpoint. Completion of the new 4,873-foot bridge across Lake Pend Oreille in November 2022 […]
NEW YORK — The Long Island Rail Road reported early this morning it had completed all infrastructure repairs following last Thursday’s derailment at Hall Interlocking and expects to operate a regular schedule of trains for today’s morning rush hour. Some LIRR routes are currently reporting scattered delays, but the issues are unrelated to the derailment, […]
NEW YORK — Extensive track repairs are necessary at the site of Thursday’s derailment of a Long Island Rail Road train, Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Janno Lieber said during a press conference today (Aug. 4), but the commuter line should be fully functional by Monday morning’s commute. The Queens Chronicle reports Lieber said 1,600 feet […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — Ottawa’s transit service manager now says she is “very confident” that the light rail Confederation Line will resume operation on Aug. 14, after initially hedging on that estimate. The Ottawa Citizen reports Renée Amilcar said Thursday that she holds that view “based on the work done by RTG [system operator Rideau Transit […]
CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker led an entourage of local and national political firepower Thursday in touting Amtrak’s application for federal funding for the Chicago Hub project, a more than $1.1 billion plan to improve Chicago Union Station and routes into the city. The request to the Federal Railroad Administration for an $872.8 million Federal-State […]
LINCOLN, Neb. — The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division has sued BNSF Railway in federal court, charging that — in reducing its maintenance-of-way workforce while contracting out more work — the railroad has violated its agreements with the union and is therefore in violation of the Railway Labor Act. The BMWED filed the […]
OTTAWA — Reopening of Ottawa’s light rail Confederation Line has been pushed back yet again, with Aug. 14 as the new date for the resumption of service. But the Ottawa Citizen reports that Renée Amilcar, the city’s transit services general manager, stressed that is an early estimate and subject to change, saying, “We continue to […]
Track ballasting made easy: Model railroading is fun, right? Well, most of the time it is, but there are some aspects of this hobby that make us shudder. And judging by the questions we receive, one thing many of us don’t enjoy is ballasting. However, adding ballast (the rocks between the ties and along the […]
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Mike Parsons will sign legislation this week including $50 million in funding for grade-crossing improvements, and will announce a crossing safety plan with the Missouri Department of Transportation, WDAF-TV reports. Parsons will sign House Bill 4, an appropriations bill governing the Department of Revenue and Department of Transportation passed […]
