Aiken, S.C., keeps its railroad traditions

Passenger train station in black-and-white

  On a day when snow is flying back home in Milwaukee, I’m 900 miles away, luxuriating in 70-degree temperatures and enjoying the refreshing shade of the huge live oak that hugs the generous eaves encircling one of the South’s most distinctive train stations. The building is a replica, but don’t hold that against it. […]

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Arkansas legislature to consider blocked-crossing bill

Seal of the Arkansas House of Representatives

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas is the latest state to consider a law limiting how long trains can block grade crossings. House Bill 1752, introduced on Tuesday by Rep. Denise Jones Ennett (D-Little Rock) would prohibit trains from blocking a crossing for more than 15 minutes. It sets penalties from $400 to $1,000, escalating to […]

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Legislative compromise may save Cincinnati Southern sale

Map of rail line from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Chattanooga, Tenn.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The city of Cincinnati’s plan to sell the Cincinnati Southern Railway to Norfolk Southern — which had been in jeopardy — has been revived by the state legislature. WXIX-TV reports that, after the state House and Senate passed versions of a transportation bill with conflicting language regarding the sale, a conference committee […]

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Norfolk Southern’s Saluda Grade

The famous Saluda grade in western North Carolina has seen its last train. Railbanked in December 2001, nature has slowly but ever so surely reclaimed the right of way. Now, in 2023, an agreement has been reached to sell the railroad to become a hiking trail. Let’s take a look back to the years when […]

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Charlotte commission votes for investigation of transit agency

Overhead view of light rail train with city skyline in distance

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Metropolitan Transit Commission, the policy board for the Charlotte Area Transit System, has called for hiring an outside consultant to investigate a May 2022 light rail derailment and the transit agency’s failure to disclose significant issues revealed by that accident, as well as other problems. National Public Radio station WFAE reports […]

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Positioning of dead-in-tow locomotives in Alabama derailment was against NS rules, NTSB says in preliminary report

Derailed freight cars next to rebuilt right-of-way

WASHINGTON — Two locomotives being transported dead-in-tow were coupled together, contrary to Norfolk Southern operating rules, in the consist of the NS train that derailed March 9 near Anniston, Ala., according to a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report released Monday. With Norfolk Southern under close scrutiny in the wake of February’s derailment in East […]

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Cleanup of Glendale, Ky., derailment continues

Derailed auto rack

GLENDALE, Ky. — All 21 cars involved in the CSX Transportation derailment Thursday in Glendale were carrying automobiles, the railroad has confirmed. Cleanup continued today (March 17) from an incident that saw the occupant of one trackside vehicle suffer what have been described as “minor” injuries. One trackside building was damaged, along with some parked […]

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Brightline introduces new airport, Miami Beach shuttles

Yellow van on road

MIAMI — Brightline has added to its first- and last-mile service for passengers, Brightline+, by launching fixed-route shuttles to and from Miami International Airport, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, and three locations in Miami Beach. In other news, the passenger operator announced a new deal for transportation for events at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, as well […]

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CSX train derails in Kentucky (updated)

Derailed auto rack

GLENDALE, Ky. — Occupants of a vehicle suffered “non-life-threatening injuries” this afternoon (March 16) when their car was struck by a derailed car from a CSX train, the railroad said in a statement to WHAS-TV. Twenty-one cars  derailed when the train applied emergency braking to avoid striking a truck at the Hodgenville Road grade crossing […]

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