WINDSOR, Ontario – Hundreds gathered here in a festive atmosphere for the ceremonial start of the Monarch Express, a joint initiative by Kansas City Southern and Canadian Pacific to help save the Monarch butterfly. A gleaming new dark green boxcar, with a colorful Monarch painted on one side and the slogan “Save the Monarch, Join […]
CHICAGO — Amtrak will begin suspending service on some long-distance trains as of tomorrow (Tuesday, Sept. 13) in preparation for a possible railroad work stoppage later this week. Trains immediately affected will be the longest-duration trains — the Chicago-Los Angeles Southwest Chief; Chicago-Seattle/Portland Empire Builder; Chicago-Emeryville, Calif., California Zephyr; and the Los Angeles-San Antonio portion […]
SAN DIEGO — The regional planning agency for San Diego County has accepted a $300 million state grant, allowing it to move ahead on plans to build an inland tunnel to replace the current Surf Line rail route along the Del Mar Bluffs. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the project would also include double tracking […]
WASHINGTON — The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association has joined the growing list of groups calling for Congress to intervene in the Class I rail labor dispute. Meanwhile, the Fertilizer Institute, which already had asked Congress to intervene, renewed its call after railroads announced they would begin embargoing hazardous or security-sensitive material, which […]
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Vermont Rail System, operator of five railroads in Vermont and New York, is rolling out freshly painted locomotives in its new image. But you will need to look closely to notice the minor change being introduced as the company paints power for the first time in a decade. The repaints will carry the […]
ITASCA, Ill. — A group of Chicago suburbs seeking more than $9 billion to mitigate impacts of the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger says it will present new testimony showing potential adverse effects at a public meeting tonight on the Surface Transportation Board’s Draft Environmental Impact Study on the merger. The meeting, the first of […]
WASHINGTON — A landmark BNSF Railway drawbridge in Seattle will receive a $25 million for mechanical upgrades under the federal Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant. U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) announced the funding on Friday for the Salmon Bay Bridge, which handles up to 40 BNSF, Amtrak, and Sounder trains per day, as well […]
ROME, Ga. — No injuries were reported in a complex incident Saturday involving Norfolk Southern trains in the towns of Rome and Lindale, Ga. NS spokesman Connor Spielmaker said in a statement that early Saturday, “two cars from a train derailed and a passing train struck them. That train was unable to immediately stop and […]
ARLINGTON, Va. —Three more unions have reached tentative agreements on new national labor agreements, the negotiating body for the railroads, the National Carriers’ Conference Committee, has announced. The tentative agreements announced today (Sunday, Sept. 11), with the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers: […]
OMAHA — Union Pacific’s main line between California and the Pacific Northwest has been shut down in central Oregon today (Sunday, Sept. 11) as firefighters deal with a wildfire near Oakridge, Ore. In an advisory to customers, UP says a curfew on train movements has been imposed from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time […]
Leaders of the two major unions representing train crews have blasted the announcement by railroads that they would begin to embargo hazardous-material and other security-sensitive shipments as “corporate extortion” and “corporate terrorism” designed to force Congress to intervene in the current rail labor dispute. Jeremy Ferguson, president of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation […]
UNION, Ill. — The Electro-Motive Division of General Motors built just two RS1325 locomotives. Both have now been saved. Genesee & Wyoming Inc., the worldwide shortline and rail services company, is donating former Chicago & Illinois Midland RS1325 No. 30 to the Illinois Railway Museum. The IRM board approved the donation Saturday night and transportation […]
