MONTREAL — A coalition opposed to construction of the Lac-Mégantic rail bypass has delivered almost 1,500 letters contesting the Canadian government’s expropriation of land for the project to the agency in charge of the process. The French-language newspaper La Presse Canadienne initially reported the protest in an article published in English by the Montreal Gazette. […]
WASHINGTON — The independent body which oversees safety matters for the DC Metrorail system is investigating an incident in which a train operator improperly used Metrorail’s automated operating system, and is working to determine if other operators have done so, as well. The Washington Post reports the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission is looking into a […]
CHICAGO — Amtrak departures from Chicago began at mid-morning today (Sunday, March 26) following two days of widespread cancellations because engineers couldn’t register, or initialize, trains in the interoperable positive train control system shared with host railroads. The impact of those cancellations will reverberate for days because equipment isn’t available to return to Chicago. Today’s […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has announced a significant number of service disruptions in April for track work to address speed restrictions on its rail rapid transit network, as well as some commuter rail work. No work is planned the weekend of April 15-16 because of anticipated increased ridership for Boston Marathon events. […]
CHICAGO — Ongoing issues with the server involved with Amtrak’s positive train control system have led to the cancellation today (Saturday, March 25), of a number of trains in the Midwest and elsewhere. According to the Amtrak Alerts Twitter feed, 11 of the 13 Hiawatha service trains between Chicago and Milwaukee have been canceled as […]
LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska Legislature is placing on hold a bill that would require trains to have two-person crews while federal regulators consider the issue, the Omaha World-Herald reports. Legislative Bill 31 was introduced in January by state Sen. Mike Jacobson (R-North Platte) and was awaiting action by the legislature’s Transportation and Telecommuncations Committee. […]
A coalition of eight shop craft unions have reached a tentative agreement with Amtrak, the unions announced Friday. The TCU & Shop-Craft Coalition said in a brief statement that it had reached the agreement on Thursday, March 23. “We appreciate the patience of our members, and we will be providing all the details of this […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific has reached an agreement with General Committee 953 of the SMART-TD union to maintain two-person crews, the railroad announced, confirming an earlier report by the North Platte Telegraph. General Committee 953 covers workers in a 13-state area on the Union Pacific and four short lines, and in its current form […]
CHICAGO — Amtrak trains on some routes are experiencing cancellations or delays today (Friday, March 24) as a result of a nationwide server issue that is keeping the positive train control initialization process from taking place. “It is a back-office issue, and we have been working with our [PTC] vendor to resolve it,” Amtrak spokesman […]
In every issue News p. 4 Amtrak and VIA seek builder interest in developing new long-distance fleets Preservation p. 44 Restoration is underway on long-dormant Maine Central 4-6-2 No. 470 Ask Trains p. 47 What musical instrument was commonly used to announce dinner seatings aboard passenger trains? […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Board is now providing online information on speed restrictions on its rail transit network through on online tool launched on Thursday. The Speed Restriction Dashboard provides information on the location, speed limit, date a restriction was put in place, and the reason for the restriction, on the Red, Orange, […]
CASS, W.Va. — Cass Scenic Railroad operator Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad has announced that the 2023 Parade of Steam will take place June 17 at the Cass depot. In previous years, this increasingly popular event has featured five of Cass Scenic’s geared steam locomotives, in various combinations, under steam. However, if all goes as […]
