Standardized time in the US Long before radios and extensive signaling systems, railroads safely operated multiple trains on the same line. Supplied with timetables showing the schedules of all regular trains and precisely worded written orders from the dispatcher, crews ran with a complete understanding of where and when they would meet other trains and […]
CAMDEN, N.J. — Two construction workers were killed Friday night when stuck by a PATCO train on the Ben Franklin Bridge linking Philadelphia and Camden, the Camden Courier-Post reported. The workers were struck by a westbound train on the PATCO (Port Authority Transit Corp.) Speedline, which operates between Philadelphia and Lindenwold, N.J. A Delaware River […]
AVENTURA, Fla. — Brightline and contractor Lemartec have announced the topping off for the passenger operator’s new Aventura station, which occurred in the early-morning hours of Oct. 8 with the placement of a 131-foot-long pedestrian skybridge over the Harriet Tubman Highway (formerly West Dixie Highway) and the double-track Florida East Coast Railway main line used […]
The National Park Service has closed portions of the tracks used by Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad in Ohio due to significant erosion from the Cuyahoga River, the tourist railroad announced on Thursday. The closure will affect some of the CVSR’s excursion operations. For the weekend of Oct. 14, the Cleveland Dinner and Event Train will […]
CHICAGO — Commuter rail operator Metra has released a proposed 2023 operating budget of $980 million that includes several options for continuing to discount monthly passes and simplifying other aspects of its fare structure, as well as plans for more than $500 million in capital spending. The agency is also soliciting comment on a newly […]
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Canadian government on Thursday announced a series of steps to streamline shipping regulations and improve use of digital information in Canada’s supply chain, moves Transport Minister Omar Alghabra described as “a first step toward addressing recommendations by the National Supply Chain task force.” The moves announced Thursday, backed by a government […]
TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Cleanup continued Thursday after about a dozen cars of an Eastern Idaho Railroad derailed Wednesday night, KMTV reports. No injuries or hazardous-materials situation were reported as a result of the accident, which blocked Hankins Road in the southern Idaho community. The Eastern Idaho Railroad, a Watco property, operates 385 route-miles in […]
PITTSBURGH — Wabtec Corp. has signed a five-year agreement with European equipment leasing firm Akiem to provide maintenance of critical components for Akiem locomotive fleets, the companies have announced. The agreement covers brake components, pantographs, and HVAC systems for Alstom-built Prima and Traxx locomotives in France and Germany, and aims to maximize equipment availability for […]
A scary tale of two train wrecks: Around the time of All Hallows’ Eve, it is tradition to subject ourselves to dark, scary tales intended to make us afraid of the dark and fear those things that go bump in the night. The vast majority of these stories are pure fiction that, when peeled back, […]
Yard Dog In mid-September 2022, the first nationwide railroad strike in three decades was narrowly averted thanks to a tentative deal between Class I railroads and three labor unions. The news brought to mind a labor dispute more than 30 years ago — and an unusual picket line. In the 1980s, railroaders in Norfolk, Nebraska’s […]
WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board has created a passenger rail office that will be responsible for investigating and analyzing Amtrak on-time performance on host railroads. The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 authorizes the STB to investigate the causes of substandard passenger rail on-time performance, to identify mitigating measures, and, under specified […]
DURANGO, Colo. – A Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad crew helped rescue a missing hiker on Monday. The Durango Herald reports that a passenger on a northbound train spotted a woman waving frantically from the opposite bank of the Animas River about five miles south of Silverton. The passenger notified the crew, which in […]
