ALBANY, N.Y. — Legislators in New York state have introduced bills requiring two-person crews for most freight operations in the state. Senate bill S3953, introduced by Sen. Timothy M. Kennedy (D-Buffalo), would require two-person crews for Class I and Class II railroads, except for those engaged in switching, and specifies penalties beginning at $250 to […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Chicago’s Metra passenger killed when commuter train strikes truck on BNSF Railway
CLARENDON HILLS, Ill. – A woman passenger was killed here Wednesday morning and four other people were injured when a Chicago-bound Metra commuter train hit a box truck that was stalled at a crossing on the triple-track BNSF Railway main line. Metra train No. 1242 struck the vehicle at Prospect Avenue about 8:10 a.m., according […]
California governor, House Democrats locked in high speed rail dispute
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California Gov. Gavin Newsom is deadlocked in a dispute with Democratic colleagues in the state House over the next steps in the future of the state’s $105 billion high speed rail project, according to CalMatters, an online, nonprofit news agency that covers public policy in the Golden State. The California High-Speed Rail […]
CP should have new merger data to STB well ahead of deadline, official says
KANSAS CITY — Canadian Pacific should file updated traffic data with the Surface Transportation Board pertaining to its planned merger with Kansas City Southern well ahead of a May 27 deadline, John Brooks, CP vice president and chief marketing officer, told the North American Rail Shippers conference on Wednesday. The STB requested updated baseline traffic […]
Secrecy issues dominate as Gulf Coast STB hearing continues: Analysis
WASHINGTON — Cross-examination of Jim Blair, Amtrak’s senior director of host railroads, consumed the full 8-hour, 28-minute session Monday as the Surface Transportation Board’s hearing on the effort to launch passenger service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., resumed after an almost three-week hiatus. Blair was questioned by lawyers from Norfolk Southern, CSX Transportation, and […]
CSX’s Foote calls for fundamental change in relationship with union workers
KANSAS CITY — The 40 or so union rail employees picketing outside the site of the National Rail Shippers Conference, unhappy over their lack of a new national contract, might have been surprised by the message delivered inside by CSX Transportation CEO Jim Foote. They might have welcomed it, too, if not for the adversarial […]
STB board member stresses measured approach to service issues
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The prospect that the Surface Transportation Board will require specific, operational moves by the rail industry to address its ongoing service issues appears unlikely, and board member Patrick Fuchs spells out why it is not the regulators’ preferred option. “To the board, carriers are clearly in the best positions to identify […]
Canadian regulators propose more detailed requirements for reporting railroad performance metrics
OTTAWA, Ontario – Class I railroads operating in Canada would be required to report additional performance and staffing metrics under a proposal Canadian regulators unveiled on Friday. Transport Canada’s move was announced on the same day that the Surface Transportation Board said it will temporarily require the big railroads to provide more detailed operational and […]
Federal regulators order railroads to provide more service data, recovery plans
WASHINGTON – Federal regulators have ordered Class I railroads to provide more detailed operational and staffing metrics and will require the big four U.S. systems to submit service recovery plans in light of widespread service problems that were spotlighted during hearings last week. The Surface Transportation Board, in a decision issued on Friday, said “immediate […]
Union Pacific suffers washouts in Oklahoma
MUSKOGEE, Okla. — Union Pacific has suffered “multiple washouts” in the Muskogee area following torrential rains early Thursday, the railroad said in a notification to customers. Repair efforts were on hold until waters receded, UP said in the notification posted later that day. Limited reroutes were available, but customers were advised to expect delays of […]
Orlando businesses pledge $125 million for Brightline-SunRail joint route to Disney World (corrected)
ORLANDO, Fla. — Businesses who would have been bypassed by Brightline’s original route between Orlando International Airport and Disney World have pledged $125 million toward a project which would serve them through a joint route used by both Brightline and commuter operator SunRail. Accounts of the meeting were provided in a paywalled Orlando Sentinel report […]
SMART to add five round trips to weekday schedule
PETALUMA, Calif. — Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit will add five weekday round trips beginning June 13 as part of a new schedule restoring service discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new schedule includes three added morning trips in each direction — from Sonoma County Airport at 4:39, 6:38, and 7:42 a.m., and from Larkspur at […]
