Norfolk Southern working to repair lift bridge in Alabama

Norfolk Southern logo

ATLANTA – Norfolk Southern’s lift bridge across the Tennessee River at Decatur, Ala., will be out of service for up to five days after it was struck by a vessel, the railroad said in a service advisory on Tuesday. “A bridge strike was reported at Decatur Junction on the Memphis East Division disrupting service between […]

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Preliminary NTSB report offers details on fatal NS accident in Alabama

Illustration of accident scene

WASHINGTON — A segment of steel angle iron protruding from a gondola car on a stopped train killed a conductor trainee and seriously injured a conductor on an oncoming Norfolk Southern train, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on the Dec. 13, 2022, accident in Bessemer, Ala. The preliminary report, issued Tuesday, […]

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Alaska Railroad train derailed by avalanche

Train stopped in snow from avalanche in night photo

GIRDWOOD, Alaska — Two crew members escaped without injury when an Alaska Railroad train derailed after hitting avalanche debris early Tuesday morning, Jan. 17, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The freight train from Whitter to Anchorage struck debris covering the tracks at Mile 71.5 of the Seward Highway at about 2 a.m., derailing the train’s […]

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Work to stabilize San Clemente hillside faces new issue

Heavy equipment moving rocks along rail lline at beach as train waits in distance

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Work to stabilize a slope along the rail line between Los Angeles and San Diego may face new delays, after contractors discovered placement of ground anchors may conflict with earlier efforts to stabilize homes on the hillside above. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that installation of some of the anchors, which […]

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News photos: Hamilton, Ohio, station move completed

Station building on wheels is eased onto street

HAMILTON, Ohio — The second part of the railroad station in Hamilton, Ohio, made its move today (Tuesday, Jan. 17), with the one-story portion of the structure making the 1,100-foot trip down Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to join the two-story building moved in December [see “News photos: Hamilton, Ohio, station on the move,” Trains […]

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FRA warns railroads about their crew training programs

Logo for Federal Railroad Administration

WASHINGTON — The head of the Federal Railroad Administration has warned Class I railroads that it will take enforcement action if they don’t make recommended improvements to their engineer and conductor training and certification programs. Administrator Amit Bose, in a Jan. 5 letter to the chief executives of the Class I systems, said the FRA […]

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RDC expands its European locomotive fleets

Red electric locomotive with white passenger cars

Railroad Development Corp., the Pittsburgh-based company with rail operations on four continents, has added electric locomotives to its operations in both France and Germany. In Germany, subsidiary RDC Deutschland has bought two Class 101 electric locos from German national operator Deutsch Bahn and agreed to options to buy three more. The DB Class 101 is […]

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TSB to investigate Canadian Pacific derailment in Saskatchewan

Canadian Pacific Railway beaver logo

CHAPLIN, Saskatchewan — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is sending a team of investigators to examine a Canadian Pacific derailment that occurred early Monday morning in Chaplin, Sask., Global News reports. The derailment, shortly after midnight, involved 47 railcars and 95 containers, according to preliminary information. No hazardous materials were involved, CTV News reports; […]

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