BOSTON — Voters in the communities of New Bedford and Fall River, Mass., have voted to join the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, clearing the way for operation of South Coast Rail commuter service, which is expected to begin in 2023. Boston.com reports those two communities and Taunton, Mass., are the only major cities within 50 […]
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency will consider new, stricter regulations regarding diesel locomotive emissions, the agency said Wednesday. Reuters reports that the agency said it had formed a team “to evaluate how best to address air pollutant emissions from the locomotive sector. This team will develop a set of options and recommendations for possible […]
HAMILTON, Ontario — The Canadian government will invest up to C$5 million in transloading facilities at the Port of Hamilton, aiding the transfer of steel products between marine, rail, and road transport. In all, the project by the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority will cost almost C$10 million and will address supply-chain congestion at the port. “As […]
ROCHELLE, Ill. — The city of Rochelle has broken ground on its new Intermodal Transload Center, which will offer both intermodal service and transloading for a variety of commodities. Intermodal service could begin as early as spring 2023, the city says. “The Union Pacific Global III Intermodal facility abruptly idled in 2019, leaving local industries […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic showed a slight decline for the week ending Nov. 5, after having displayed a slight uptick the previous week, according to the latest figures from the Association of American Railroads. The total volume of 502,106 carloads and intermodal units represented a 0.4% decline compared to the corresponding week in 2021. That […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Class I railroads and the union representing maintenance of way employees today agreed to extend their cooling off period through at least Dec. 4, eliminating the prospect of a national strike or lockout this month. The prior cooling off period between the National Carriers Conference Committee and the Brotherhood of Maintenance […]
MIAMI — Brightline is altering operations between Miami and West Palm Beach as of this afternoon (Wednesday, Nov. 9) because of the approaching Tropical Storm Nicole, which forecasters have predicted will be a Category 1 hurricane when it makes landfall on Thursday. But while the passenger operator initially said it also expected to modify Thursday […]
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific Challenger No. 3985 took one final ride on UP’s turntable at Cheyenne on Tuesday, as the locomotive prepares for its move to Silvis, Ill., in a trip beginning later this week. The locomotive is paired with the original tender for Big Boy No. 4014, since No. 4014 has been using […]
CHICAGO — J.B. Hunt executives see the potential for major growth with partner BNSF Railway next year thanks to rival Schneider shifting its intermodal business to Union Pacific. Schneider’s move to UP, effective Jan. 1, comes a year after another major truckload carrier, Knight-Swift, left BNSF for UP. “We have massive capacity becoming available to […]
STRASBURG, Pa. — Strasburg Rail Road’s ex-Norfolk & Western 4-8-0 steam engine No. 475 returned to excursion passenger duty this week after the company’s mechanical department worked overtime to repair smokebox damage from a Nov. 2 collision with a tracked excavator. The locomotive was back in service on Monday [see “Strasburg No.475 back in service […]
ORLANDO, Fla. — SunRail, the Orlando-area commuter operation that suffered significant damage on part of its route from the recent Hurricane Ian, has once again halted operations because of an approaching storm. Miami-area operator Tri-Rail, meanwhile, is also preparing to shut down. SunRail announced Tuesday afternoon it would halt operations today (Wednesday, Nov. 9) for […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has announced a series of changes and cancellations for Silver Star, Silver Meteor, and Auto Train departures scheduled for today (Tuesday, Nov. 8) through Friday, Nov. 11, because of the approach of Tropical Storm Nicole, which is being forecast to reach hurricane status by the time it arrives in Florida. The first […]
