CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte’s entire fleet of 42 light rail vehicles has been restricted to a top speed of 35 mph speed limit and will require replacement of axle bearings as a result of a fault discovered after a May 2022 derailment, the Charlotte Observer reports. Interim Charlotte Area Transit System CEO Brent Cagle told […]
NEW ORLEANS — Amtrak will apply for a federal grant that, if approved by the Federal Railroad Administration, would pay for 80% of a study of track and station improvements necessary to extend a section of the New York-New Orleans Crescent between Meridian, Miss., and Fort Worth, Texas. Nicole Bucich, Amtrak’s vice president of network […]
PIEDMONT, Ala. — Thirty-seven cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed this morning (Thursday, March 9) in rural Calhoun County near the town of Piedmont, shortly before the railroad’s CEO began testimony before Congress on the railroad’s derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. No hazardous materials were involved in the Alabama incident, which occurred about 6:50 […]
MIAMI — Brightline has completed work to improve 48 grade crossings in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, a $5.4 million project supported by a $2.3 million federal grant as well as local funding. Federal Railroad Administration funding came in the form of a $2.3 million Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement, or CRISI, grant […]
LEXINGTON, N.C. — Siemens Mobility officials announced Tuesday on a media call with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Federal Railroad Administration Administrator Amit Bose that they intend to construct a $220 million passenger railcar manufacturing facility designed to complement the company’s existing Sacramento, Calif., plant. Dr. Roland Busch, CEO of parent company Siemens AG, […]
ORLANDO — A Brightline train has hit speeds of 130 mph in testing on passenger operator’s corridor between Orlando and Cocoa, Fla., the company announced this morning (March 6, 2023), making it the fastest train ever to operate in Florida and the southeastern U.S. The 35-mile route paralleling the Beachline Expressway (State Route 528) is […]
NASHVILLE — The seven-year effort to take former Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis 4-8-4 No. 576 from static display in a Nashville park to operating locomotive and regional tourist attraction is entering its final phase, with caretakers Nashville Steam Preservation Society Inc. launching a new matching campaign to raise $350,000 to finish the job. “We […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Gulf & Atlantic Railways is the new name for the holding company known as RailUSA, which is overseeing its two key properties — the Florida, Gulf & Atlantic Railroad and Grenada Railroad — from a new corporate office in Jacksonville. “We are taking a long-term approach that is heavily focused on investing […]
RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Transportation has begun testing a locomotive equipped with a Tier 4 emissions control system. On Tuesday, Feb. 28, state-supported Piedmont train No. 75 included three locomotives, with one, No. 1859, equipped with Rail Propulsion Systems’ Selective Catalytic Reduction technology. The train departed Raleigh for Charlotte with 1859 […]
ORLANDO, Fla. — In a significant milestone toward its effort to launch service to Orlando by midyear, Brightline will being testing at speeds up to 125 mph on its new 35-mile corridor between Cocoa, Fla., and Orlando International Airport as soon as today, March 1. In a Tuesday evening announcement, the passenger operator said test […]
BRADENTON, Fla. — Seven cars of a Seminole Gulf Railway train — two of them carrying propane — derailed this morning, Tuesday, Feb. 28, near Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, the Bradenton Herald reports. One of the propane cars was among six cars that ended up on their side; the other five cars were carrying sheetrock. The other […]
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Removal of hazardous waste from the site of a Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine is slated to resume today (Monday, Feb. 27), after being paused Saturday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over concerns regarding the moves by residents, as well as those in locations that were receiving the waste. […]
