The famous Saluda grade in western North Carolina has seen its last train. Railbanked in December 2001, nature has slowly but ever so surely reclaimed the right of way. Now, in 2023, an agreement has been reached to sell the railroad to become a hiking trail. Let’s take a look back to the years when […]
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Metropolitan Transit Commission, the policy board for the Charlotte Area Transit System, has called for hiring an outside consultant to investigate a May 2022 light rail derailment and the transit agency’s failure to disclose significant issues revealed by that accident, as well as other problems. National Public Radio station WFAE reports […]
WASHINGTON — Two locomotives being transported dead-in-tow were coupled together, contrary to Norfolk Southern operating rules, in the consist of the NS train that derailed March 9 near Anniston, Ala., according to a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report released Monday. With Norfolk Southern under close scrutiny in the wake of February’s derailment in East […]
GLENDALE, Ky. — All 21 cars involved in the CSX Transportation derailment Thursday in Glendale were carrying automobiles, the railroad has confirmed. Cleanup continued today (March 17) from an incident that saw the occupant of one trackside vehicle suffer what have been described as “minor” injuries. One trackside building was damaged, along with some parked […]
MIAMI — Brightline has added to its first- and last-mile service for passengers, Brightline+, by launching fixed-route shuttles to and from Miami International Airport, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, and three locations in Miami Beach. In other news, the passenger operator announced a new deal for transportation for events at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, as well […]
GLENDALE, Ky. — Occupants of a vehicle suffered “non-life-threatening injuries” this afternoon (March 16) when their car was struck by a derailed car from a CSX train, the railroad said in a statement to WHAS-TV. Twenty-one cars derailed when the train applied emergency braking to avoid striking a truck at the Hodgenville Road grade crossing […]
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The widow of a Norfolk Southern trainee killed last year when struck by debris in a locomotive cab has sued the railroad, the news site Al.com reports. Sherita Fields filed suit in Jefferson County Circuit Court earlier this year over the death of Walter James Griffin III, 43. Griffin was killed in […]
LANDRUM, S.C. — Norfolk Southern has agreed to sell 31 miles of right-of-way for its dormant Saluda Grade — formerly the steepest main line in America — to the Saluda Grade Trail Conservancy for conversion to a trail, the Spartanburg Post and Courier reports. Three non-profit groups — Conserving Carolina, Upstate Forever, and PAL: Play, […]
WASHINGTON — Beginning with the northbound Silver Star of today (Wednesday, March 15), and the southbound train on Friday, March 17, Amtrak is returning full dining car meals to the Star’s Viewliner II diner. It will be the train’s first such food service since “traditional dining” was replaced by “flexible” meals in a bowl on […]
WASHINGTON — The merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern may be a union of two freight railroads, but it is likely to matter for passenger railroading, as well. Amtrak had formally supported the railroads’ merger application before the Surface Transportation Board. That reflected CP’s backing for passenger operations between New Orleans and Baton […]
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte’s entire fleet of 42 light rail vehicles has been restricted to a top speed of 35 mph speed limit and will require replacement of axle bearings as a result of a fault discovered after a May 2022 derailment, the Charlotte Observer reports. Interim Charlotte Area Transit System CEO Brent Cagle told […]
NEW ORLEANS — Amtrak will apply for a federal grant that, if approved by the Federal Railroad Administration, would pay for 80% of a study of track and station improvements necessary to extend a section of the New York-New Orleans Crescent between Meridian, Miss., and Fort Worth, Texas. Nicole Bucich, Amtrak’s vice president of network […]
