TORONTO — The Toronto Transit Commission will receive almost Ca$1.2 billion in federal funding, with more than half ticketed for 55 new subway cars, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland announced on Friday, Nov. 29. Some $758 million of the federal funds, to be provided over the next decade from the […]
My worst nightmare-come-true as a railroader was waking up Christmas morning in a lonely hotel room, hundreds of miles away from home. Restaurants were usually shuttered and even the vending machines at the station were bare. I once held the northbound Palmetto at Florence, S.C., refusing to move the train until I could at least […]
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen at the Florida, Gulf & Atlantic Railway have ratified a five-year agreement, their first since joining the union last year, the BLET has announced. The agreement, ratified Nov. 21 and announced this week, establishes such work rules as a seniority roster, grievance procedures, […]
WASHINGTON — A safety advisory issued this week by the Federal Transit Administration is asking agencies overseeing transit operators to look more closely at street-running rail operations, noting the heightened risk of incidents including fatalities. The advisory issued on Monday, Nov. 25, notes that the number of incidents at street intersection grade crossings are about […]
Increasingly, the holiday season is also a team for brightly decorated trains on major commuter and transit systems. The New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco areas will all see such trains this year, including a new train on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Metro North Railroad, and Metra trains with more elaborate decorations. Here’s […]
WASHINGTON — Likely because of the difference in where the Thanksgiving holiday falls this year, weekly U.S. rail traffic shows a major volume increase for the week ending Nov. 23, 2024. Total weekly traffic was 520,798 carloads and intermodal units, a 25.6% increase over the same week last year — when Thanksgiving was on Nov. […]
WASHINGTON — Jennifer Mitchell has been appointed as Amtrak’s executive vice president of strategy and planning, the company announced Tuesday (Nov. 26). Amtrak says Mitchell will be responsible for setting the company’s long-term strategic vision and managing planning, infrastructure access, state partner, network development, and host railroad duties. Her transportation career most recently includes serving […]
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has formed a second Presidential Emergency Board to address the dispute between NJ Transit and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. The three members of the board were announced by the White House on Nov. 21. The board now has 60 days to produce a report selecting the offer […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s recent maintenance shutdown of a portion of the Red Line has cleared the route of slow orders for the first time in at least 20 years, the MBTA says. The work between the Harvard and Broadway stations Nov. 17-23, and between Harvard and JFK/UMass on Nov. 24, allowed […]
DENVER — Denver International and Alstom have signed a seven-year contract for Alstom to continue operation and maintenance of the airport’s People Mover system. The contract, effective Jan. 1, 2024 and valued at approximately $228 million, maintains the employment of 91 Alstom employees. Under the contract, Alstom provides 24-hour-a-day maintenance and operations for the vehicle […]
For the 82nd year, CSX’s Santa Train made its journey over the former Clinchfield Railroad on Saturday, Nov. 23, traveling from Shelby, Ky., to Kingsport, Tenn., in an approximately 9-hour, 110-mile trip featuring a dozen intermediate stops in which Santa Claus and volunteers distributed gifts to those visiting the train at trackside. The train, operating […]
MONTREAL — Members of Canadian labor union Unifor have voted to authorize a strike against Canadian National Railway if a new contract agreement is not reached by Jan. 1, 2025. Unifor said in a press release that members of the two groups representing CN workers — Council 4000 and Local 100 — had voted 97% […]
