WASHINGTON – The Class I railroads submitted their first batch of expanded performance metrics to federal regulators this week, including a snapshot of on-time performance data. The board on May 6 ordered the railroads to report the data beginning this week in response to shipper complaints and testimony delivered during two days of hearings last […]
PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Reading & Northern took delivery of its first unit train of frac sand on May 15. Norfolk Southern delivered the 75-car train to R&N’s North Reading Yard, where R&N crews were on hand with a five-unit set of SD40-2s to bring the train 120 miles north to R&N’s Sand Storage facility […]
DILLWYN, Va. — Robert E. Bryant, founder and chairman of Virginia’s largest short line, the family-owned Buckingham Branch Railroad, died May 8 at his home. He was 87. After a long career with the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway and its successors, Chessie System and CSX Transportation, Bryant formed the short line in 1988 by acquiring […]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — American coal prices in the aftermath of the coronavirus have reached unprecedented highs and world events are notching prices even higher [see “Russia-Ukraine war likely to bolster U.S. coal imports,” Trains News Wire, March 28, 2022]. While coal supply remains tight, continued favorable pricing may increase mining-company confidence to tap into reserves […]
SAN DIEGO — Metropolitan Transit System is donating up to 39 second-generation light rail vehicles to Mendoza, Argentina, as it makes way for a new order of trolleys. The Siemens SD100 vehicles, which began entering service in 1995, will become part of the Metrotranvia Mendoza light rail fleet. “As MTS modernizes its Trolley fleet, we […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has removed its newest rapid-transit equipment from service after a car was disabled by braking problems. NBC Boston reports 64 Orange Line cars and six Red Line cars built in Springfield, Mass., by an affiliate of China’s CRRC were pulled from service for inspections “out of an abundance […]
ELY, Nev. — The Nevada Northern Railway Museum will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the launch of its excursion operations on Memorial Day weekend with a series of special events as well as its regular schedule of excursions. The celebration from Thursday, May 26, to Sunday, May 29, will include guided tours of the museum, […]
FAIRFIELD, Ala. — Watco has completed expansion of its training center, the Safe Performance Center in Fairfield. The $3 million project including a new 11,000-square-foot building with classrooms, a conference room, and space for a locomotive simulator. The expansion of the original facility built in 2017 increases the number of individuals who can receive training […]
VICTORIA, British Columbia — The Island Corridor Foundation, the non-profit organization which owns the former Esquimalt & Nanaimo rail line on Vancouver Island, has proposed a C$431 plan to for a commuter and freight rail service between Victoria and Courtenay, B.C. The Victoria Times Colonist reports the foundation is seeking government support for a business […]
SEATTLE — In its determination to cut costs in 2020 and 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic sucker-punched its prized Northeast Corridor moneymakers, Amtrak management turned off the hiring pipeline while furloughing employees nationwide. But state-based decisions deferring resumption of regional round trips have exacerbated the situation, especially in efforts to hire operating personnel, as prospective […]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Railroads measure key operating metrics through railcar velocities. Class I railroads gauge operating performance by how many miles a railcar travels in a day on its network, the average speed of regularly scheduled trains, and average terminal dwell times, among other metrics. It shares this data publicly with investors, shippers, and regulators. […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s contract operator of commuter rail service, Keolis, has announced the return of weekend CapeFLYERservice between Boston and Cape Cod. The seasonal service will begin its 10th summer of operation on Friday, May 29, and will operate through Labor Day weekend. The service is a partnership of the MBTA, […]
