News photo: First remanufactured CN units now in operation

Shiny new read and black locomotives on freight train

LONDON, Ontario — The first two Canadian National locomotives in an order for 50 remanufactured AC44C6M units are now in service. Nos. 3300 and 3301 were photographed Sunday, Oct. 30, in London, Ont., on CN’s Dundas Subdivision. No. 3300 was part of a ceremony involving CN and Wabtec officials at Wabtec’s Fort Worth, Texas, plant […]

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GO Transit strike averted

Commuter train equipment in yard with one train passing on main line

TORONTO — GO Transit parent Metrolinx and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1587 have reached tentative agreement on a new contract, averting a possible strike by 2,200 GO Transit workers that was set to begin on Monday, Oct. 31. The CBC reports union members will vote on the agreement next week. The union represents bus drivers, […]

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Bombardier HR616 locomotive, a diesel that didn’t

Bombardier HR616 locomotive with black-and-white stripes

The Bombardier HR616 locomotive sold just 20 copies to one railroad, qualifying it as a Diesel That Didn’t. In North America, when we think of builders of diesel road locomotives, we usually conjure visions of EMD, GE, Wabtec, Alco, Baldwin, and Fairbanks-Morse. But there were others, including Canada’s Bombardier. The Montreal-headquartered rail transportation arm of […]

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Alpenglow Rail acquires terminal in Alberta

Aerial view of yard tracks with tank cars

DENVER — Alpenglow Rail Services Corp and partner Connor, Clark & Lunn Infrastructure have acquired Alberta Midland Railway Terminal Ltd., the companies announced this week. The terminal, approximately 30 kilometers (18.6) miles east of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, in the Greater Edmonton region, becomes Alpenglow’s third rail terminal in Canada to go with three in the […]

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CN sets weekly Canadian grain volume record

Train pulling multiple cars

MONTREAL – Canadian National set a new weekly tonnage record for Canadian grain the week of Oct. 16, the railroad announced Monday. CN move more than 806,000 metric tons of grain from Western Canada, eclipsing the previous record by more than 50,000 metric tons. The record, CN says, comes after CN posted its second-best September […]

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Government order requires extensive inspections, tests for VIA heritage fleet

Side view of passenger train with coach behind observation car

  OTTAWA — The Safety Order issued Thursday by Transport Canada appears to require VIA Rail Canada to continue to use unoccupied end-of-train buffer cars through 2023, and recommends “operational measures and additional analysis” until VIA undertakes “a structural reinforcement and repair program” of its entire heritage fleet of stainless steel, head-end-power rolling stock. The […]

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New delay to be announced for Montreal light rail system

Rail transit vehicle in snow

MONTREAL — Officials will announce another delay in opening Montreal’s Réseau Express Métropolitain light-rail system today, according to media reports. The Montreal Gazette, citing reports from La Presse and Radio-Canada, the French-language arm of the CBC, says the first segment of the system between Montreal’s Central Station and the South Shore municipality of Brossard will […]

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Some GO Transit workers could strike Oct. 31

Commuter train equipment in yard with one train passing on main line

TORONTO — The union representing 2,200 GO Transit bus drivers, station attendants, safety officers, and maintenance workers says they will go on strike Oct. 31 if they do not reach a deal on a new contract. CityNews Toronto reports Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1587 President Rob Cormier said the union will walk out at 12:01 […]

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News photo: Preparing for Amtrak’s return to Montreal

Passenger train on bridge near water, with high-rise apartments in background

MONTREAL — Operating as Amtk 694 (the train number Canadian National has always assigned to the southbound Adirondack while on CN rails), an Amtrak requalification run heads to Montreal’s Central Station on Thursday as it passes the mostly drained Peel Basin. While Amtrak service to Vancouver and Toronto was restored earlier this year, there is still […]

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Unifor, CN begin talks on new contract

Logo of Canadian union Unifor

MONTREAL — Unifor, Canada’s largest union, has opened bargaining with Canadian National for a new contract, the union said Wednesday. The union says it represents about 3,600 workers at CN terminals and headquarters across Canada, including mechanics, crane operators, machinists, electricians, and clericial, administrative, and customer-support workers. The current agreement expires on Dec. 31. “The […]

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