JOPLIN, Mont. — The vice chair of the National Transportation Safety Board says Amtrak’s Empire Builder was traveling below its posted speed limit when it derailed and partially overturned over the weekend in rural Montana, killing three people. NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg told members of the media Monday afternoon that the eastbound Empire Builder […]
NEW ORLEANS — After first being turned back to Chicago at Memphis, Tenn., and later at Jackson, Miss., Amtrak’s City of New Orleans will finally make its grand entrance to the Crescent City one month after Hurricane Ida slammed into Louisiana with torrential rains and strong winds. The southbound train departing Chicago today and its […]
WASHINGTON — Virginia’s Buckingham Branch Railroad seeks to acquire a line that it presently leases from CSX Transportation. It encompasses 164.22 miles of line from milepost 276 in Clifton Forge to milepost 111.78 at Doswell. The railroad has leased the line, part of which hosts Amtrak’s Cardinal, since 2005. It was originally Chesapeake & Ohio. […]
WASHINGTON — The California High-Speed Rail Authority has filed two petitions with the Surface Transportation Board to reopen proceedings to make changes to two aspects of its high speed rail line under construction in the Central Valley. The first document seeks to reexamine an exemption granted for 65 miles of high-speed line between Merced and […]
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis Railroad reached a major milestone on Friday when the first of three replacement spans on the Merchants Bridge was floated into position on the Mississippi River at St. Louis. Owned by the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis, the Merchants Bridge project is a […]
LOS ANGELES — Amtrak and Metrolink service has been suspended in south Orange County for emergency track work to stabilize right-of-way in the San Clemente, Calif., area. The Pacific Surfliner website says no trains will operate south of Irvine. Calif., between today and Sunday. As of Monday, Sept. 20, train service will resume on a […]
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — It’s only 13 miles of a 129-mile project, but this week’s planned activation of a second main track between West Palm Beach and Jupiter, Fla., represents tangible progress in Brightline’s northward expansion. Restoration of the second main on Florida East Coast’s line to Cocoa, Fla., helps establish a fluid, 110-mph-capable […]
Much progress has been made on BNSF’s second bridge across Lake Pend Oreille outside Sandpoint, Idaho. Rolling through on the existing 4,769-foot bridge (completed by Northern Pacific in 1904) on Sept. 5th is train H-BARPAS, a Barstow, Calif., to Pasco, Wash., manifest that detoured via Denver due to wildfire damage on BNSF’s route in northern […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army needs to act to ensure it is able to move equipment by rail in case of a large-scale mobilization, the Government Accountability Office says in a report issued earlier this month, and also needs to address widespread track issues with Army-controlled rail lines. A summary of the report is here, […]
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — Progress on the rebirth of the East Broad Top Railroad continues on multiple fronts as part of ongoing efforts since the narrow gauge railroad was acquired by the non-profit EBT Foundation in February 2020. Some updates: — Work continues on restoring 2-8-2 steam locomotive No. 16 (Baldwin, 1916) to service, possibly […]
Independent analyst Anthony B. Hatch is fond of saying that one of freight railroads’ enduring advantages is owning and maintaining their own infrastructure. Nothing could drive that point home better than the repair blitz that Union Pacific launched after its 1,200-foot Dry Canyon Bridge sustained heavy damage from a wildfire. The 150-foot-tall span in Hotlum, […]
Connaught Tunnel Observation cars afforded a fine view of the Canadian Pacific’s engineering landmarks. This August 1942 photo shows the west portal and ventilation equipment of Connaught Tunnel on Rogers Pass in British Columbia. Andre Morin photo […]
