OTTUMWA, Iowa — The City of Ottumwa has agreed to purchase the city’s Amtrak depot, currently owned by the Iowa Heartland Historical Connection. The Ottumwa Courier reports that, by a 4-1 vote on Tuesday, the Ottumwa City Council agreed to purchase the building at a cost of $480,000, funds included in bond approvals earlier this […]
Section: News Wire
VIA Rail Canada workers vote to authorize strike
MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada workers have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, according to the Unifor union. In voting by workers across Canada from June 20 to July 1, members of Unifor Council 4000 were 99.3% in favor of a strike, while Unifor Local 100 members voted 99.4% in favor. “The strike vote result […]
French rail operations hit by one-day strike
PARIS — French railway workers went on strike today (Wednesday, July 6), with national rail operator SNCF advising customers not to travel if at all possible. Reuters reports three of the four main unions at SNCF were taking part in the strike resulting in the cancellation of about a third of all trains. Paris commuter […]
Chief wreck puts further strain on Amtrak capacity woes: Analysis
CHICAGO — When bad CSX track caused the northbound Auto Train to derail 14 of 16 Superliners at Crescent City, Fla., on April 18, 2002, Amtrak strategists scrambled but were able to counteract the resulting equipment shortage. Dealing with a similar shock to the system today — such as the one caused by last week’s […]
SMS Rail Services plans passenger excursions on new trackage
BRIDGEPORT, N.J. — SMS Rail Services, perhaps best known to enthusiasts as the operator of a roster of Baldwin diesel locomotives that work on several rail switching operations, is preparing to enter the passenger excursion business on its newest line acquisition. SMS, established in 1994 to serve the large Pureland Industrial Park in Bridgeport, N.J., […]
Second ‘Missouri River Runner’ to return July 18
CHICAGO — Amtrak will restore a second day round trip of the Missouri River Runner between St. Louis and Kansas City as of Monday, July 18, reflecting additional funding by the state of Missouri. The additional round trip will see train No. 311 depart St. Louis at 8:15 a.m. and arrive in Kansas City at […]
Canada announces fire-prevention rules, launches research program to address rail climate change issues
OTTAWA — The Government of Canada has announced two actions to address the impact of climate change on railroads — one regarding fire prevention, and the other to address efforts to make infrastructure resilient to issues such as flooding and landslides. The fire-prevention rules, effective during the April 1-Oct. 31 fire season, require railroads: — […]
Alstom opens Montreal facility to develop sustainable products
MONTREAL — Rail equipment manufacturer Alstom will open an innovation center to develop sustainable products at its headquarters for the America in St-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec, the company has announced. Alstom committed to creation of the center as part of its acquisition of Bombardier Transportation in January 2021. Its primary mission will be to develop hybrid, battery, […]
California short line Sierra Northern’s Ventura Division finds new home in Santa Paula
SANTA PAULA, Calif. — After departing Fillmore in a disagreement over use of a city-owned rail yard there, the Sierra Northern Railway, Ventura Division, has moved its operational headquarters some 9 miles west to the former Santa Paula Hay and Grain facility on 12th Street in Santa Paula. The move was effective as of July […]
IBEW members accept arbitration, end strike against CN in Canada
MONTREAL — The strike in Canada by members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers against Canadian National Railway has ended. CN announced Monday that the union, which represents about 750 signal and communications workers, has agreed to binding arbitration, bringing an end to the strike at 12:01 a.m. EDT today (July 5, 2022). Those […]
Federal regulators to look at CN, NS requests for conditions on CP-KCS merger
WASHINGTON — As part of their review of the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, federal regulators will consider requests for conditions from Canadian National and Norfolk Southern. The Surface Transportation Board on July 1 said that it has accepted the so-called responsive applications from CN and NS. CN has asked the board to force CP […]
More lawsuits filed over Southwest Chief derailment (updated)
Lawsuits continue to mount in the wake of the fatal June 27 grade crossing collision and derailment of Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, with suits filed Friday on behalf of five passengers and two Amtrak crew members. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Star reports that, while the crossing where the accident occurred was on a state list of […]
