At the Burlington Route’s station in Aurora, Ill., on a February 1946 day, Pacific 2850 pulls away from a string of suburban cars as two trains stand on other tracks. In the middle is a 22-car empty troop train waiting for a locomotive to take it west, while at left is the eastbound North Coast […]
The group representing railroads in bargaining with rail labor unions says it welcomes the move to mediation in the two-year-old negotiations, a move the group representing unions reflects the fact railroads “are not bargaining in good faith.” The National Railway Labor Conference, which represents its member railroads in national labor matters, says in a Monday […]
ORLANDO, Fla. — Travelers planning to take Amtrak between Washington, D.C., and Florida now have two choices: The Miami-New York Silver Star, which also serves Tampa and Orlando, and Auto Train, operating from Sanford, Fla. (near Orlando), and Lorton, Va., just south of the Nation’s Capital. A third choice, the Miami-New York Silver Meteor, has been […]
NEWINGTON, Conn. — Connecticut will add additional CTrail trains on the Hartford line as of today (Monday, Jan. 24) to offset the loss of service resulting from Amtrak cuts, while other Amtrak trains will be replaced by bus service, the state Department of Transportation announced. Amtrak announced cuts to its Springfield Shuttle and other service […]
DEL MAR, Calif. — After a lengthy but unsuccessful effort to negotiate an agreement, the San Diego’s North County Transit District has voted to proceed with plans to install a safety fence along its tracks on the coastal Del Mar Bluffs. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the district board voted 7-0 on Jan. 20 to […]
WASHINGTON — Chemical shippers give railroads low marks for their service, with the majority experiencing moderate to severe delays, reduced local service, and missed switches. That was the result of an American Chemistry Council member survey about their shippers’ experience with railroads and other modes in the third quarter of 2021. The trade association wrote […]
CULVER CITY, Calif. — Union Pacific has expressed interest in a new autonomous battery-electric intermodal car concept developed by a group headed by three former Space X engineers. The concept under development by Parallel Systems would see intermodal containers carried by pairs of powered battery-electric wheelsets, moving in “platoons” of cars, but capable of splitting […]
PETALUMA, Calif. — Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit has made a short-term deal for a contractor operator for freight service while it prepares to launch an in-house freight operation. The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reports the SMART board of directors on Wednesday approved a $395,000, three-month contract for Summit Signal to provide interim operation to customers currently […]
OMAHA, Neb. — BNSF Railway is asking a federal judge to block a potential strike by two unions began polling workers about a possible strike over the railroad’s new attendance policies, the Associated Press reports. BNSF filed suit against the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic continued its slow start to the year, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. Overall rail volume for the week ending Jan. 15 was 493,617 carloads and intermodal units, down 6.6% compared to the corresponding week in 2021. That includes 259,970 intermodal units, a drop of 12.2%, and […]
WEST MAHONING TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Cleanup continues after a locomotive and 17 cars of a Buffalo & Pittsburgh train derailed at midday Monday, WJAC-TV reports. No injuries were reported. The cars involved were reported to be empty or contained non-hazardous materials such as cardboard or scrap metal. A blocked grade crossing was expected to be […]
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The next chapter in Brightline’s plan to connect Miami and Orlando with modern intercity passenger trains began Tuesday with the first route familiarization runs for operating crews. Tuesday’s train made a round trip to Micco, Fla., which is midway between Melbourne and Vero Beach, Fla., and 90 miles north of […]
