WASHINGTON — For the second time in a month, Brightline West has filed “Expedited Action Requested” documents with the Surface Transportation Board, seeking approval of the company’s plans for building a 186-mph electrified rail line between Las Vegas, Nev., and Southern California. On Tuesday, Aug. 15, Brightline West urged the STB to rule favorably on […]
ERIE, Pa. — An official in Erie County says that Wabtec may be preparing to close its locomotive plant in Erie if it does not reach a new labor agreement with 1,400 striking workers. County Executive Brenton Davis said in a statement Wednesday that he had confirmed that “Wabtec was visited by representatives of a […]
BALTIMORE — Amtrak is going to court to acquire four small pieces of land in West Baltimore it says it needs for the project to replace the aging Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel, one of the most significant bottlenecks on the Northeast Corridor. The Washington Post reports the company has filed suit to acquire the properties […]
WASHINGTON — Carload traffic showed more of a downward tick for the week ending Aug. 12, leading to a larger overall drop than has been the case recently for weekly U.S. rail traffic. The weekly figure of 472,498 carloads and intermodal units represented a 4.2% decrease from the same week in 2022, after several weeks […]
CUMBERLAND, Md. — John Helmstetter, the third-generation owner of the farm from which Helmstetter’s Curve on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad takes its name, has died at age 81. Helmstetter died Aug. 15. His family’s farm at Corriganville, Md., about 5 miles west of Cumberland, was a popular photo site almost from the time the […]
The Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO today urged all six Class I railroads to join the Federal Railroad Administration’s Confidential Close Call Reporting System. The Association of American Railroads on March 2 said the Class I freight railroads would join the program, which allows railroaders to report “close call” safety incidents without fear of […]
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. — The Federal Bureau of Investigation is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who attempted to derail a train on the Saratoga Corinth & Hudson tourist railway, the Albany Times Union reports. At a press conference today (Aug. 16), Janeen DiGuiseppi, […]
SEATTLE — Amtrak and the Washington State Department of Transportation have introduced the first electric bus used as part of the Amtrak network, providing service on the Amtrak Cascades route between Seattle and Bellingham, Wash. Mid-day buses help fill the gap between the morning and evening trains on the Cascades route between Seattle and Bellingham; […]
KINGSPORT, Tenn. — The CSX Santa Train will return for its 81st year on Nov. 18, the railroad announced today in a video on the Santa Train Facebook Page. “The Santa Train is an integral part of CSX history, and we are proud to be a part of this longstanding tradition,” CEO Joe Hinricks said […]
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 […]
WASHINGTON — A Michigan electric utility company has praised the improvement in BNSF Railway’s coal train service this year, as well as the railroad’s “accurate and timely communication” during service problems last year. Consumers Energy Co., based in Jackson, Mich., told the Surface Transportation Board this week that coal train cycle times have improved by […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Democratic members of the Washington state congressional delegation have written Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to lobby for federal funding to support development of a high speed rail route in the Pacific Northwest. The Cascadia High Speed Rail proposal calls for developing a route from Vancouver, British Columbia through Seattle to Portland, Ore. […]
