The new Sherman Hill line in 1953 was Union Pacific’s latest improvement over the massive undertaking of building and maintaining a transcontinental railroad begun about 90 years earlier. Since the first surveyors ventured into the uplands west of Cheyenne in 1865, the Union Pacific has been waging intermittent war against the geography of southeastern Wyoming. […]
Train Topic: Track & Roadbed
Transport Canada makes changes to track inspection rules
OTTAWA — Transport Canada has announced changes to track inspection rules increasing the frequency of inspections in some areas, as well as rules governing use of automated track-inspection technology. The rules announced by Transport Minister Omar Alghabra will increase the frequency of track inspections in higher-risk areas where trains travel at greater speeds while carrying […]
STB clears path for Uinta Basin Railway project
WASHINGTON — A Surface Transportation Board decision has cleared the way for construction of Utah’s Uinta Basin Railway. In a decision issued Wednesday, the board granted the exemption sought by the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition to construct the 85-mile line to connect oilfields in western Utah to the national rail network at a junction with […]
East Broad Top gets $1.1 million from state for restoring track, other projects
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – East Broad Top Railroad has been awarded a $1.1 million state grant to rebuild 7.8 miles of track between the company’s headquarters in Rockhill Furnace and the towns of Three Springs and Saltillo, and to support related EBT projects. The grant awarded Wednesday, Dec. 8, is the first step toward reopening […]
Groundbreaking set for Baltimore tunnel project
BALTIMORE — CSX CEO Jim Foote and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan head the list of those those scheduled to take part today (Monday, Nov. 29) in a groundbreaking ceremony for the start of work on the long-sought Howard Street Tunnel project in Baltimore. The 1 p.m. ceremony will be at the former Mount Royal Station […]
CP line in British Columbia expected to reopen today
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific says it expects to have its main line between Vancouver and Kamloops, British Columbia, reopened by midday today as a result of more than a week of around-the-clock work to repair damage from Nov. 14 flooding. The railroad says 30 locations on its Thompson and Cascade subdivisions sustained flood damage […]
Ohio short line gets funding for rail project
DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Ohio Rail Development Commission has approved a grant of up to $687,622.50 to replace rail on a portion of Pioneer Lines Napoleon Defiance & Western Railway’s line east of Defiance, Ohio. NDW’s line runs from Woodburn, Ind., to Napoleon, Ohio, with interchanges with Norfolk Southern in Woodburn and CSX in Defiance. […]
Franklin Park crossovers separate Canadian Pacific and Metra moves
FRANKLIN PARK, Ill. — It’s not the largest or most essential component of a decades-long, $4.6 billion dollar effort to unclog Chicago’s rail network called CREATE. But completion of the $14.5 million Metra/Canadian Pacific Crossover Upgrades Project is typical of incremental improvements that sporadic funding achieves. Six crossovers and associated signaling now allow Canadian Pacific […]
San Diego agency seeks new partner for desert line
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System is seeking new partners in its ongoing effort to reopen the 70-mile former San Diego & Arizona Eastern line from Tecate, Mexico, to Plaster City, Calif., the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. The agency has owned the line since 1979 and made several attempts to reopen the […]
Land negotiations begin for Lac-Mégantic bypass
LAC-MÉGANTIC, Quebec — Negotiations for purchase of the land needed to build a rail bypass around Lac-Mégantic and the surrounding area have begun, Transport Canada reports. The submission of the first offers is part of an ongoing process of rerouting the Canadian Pacific main line away from the community devastated by the 2013 derailment and […]
Alaska Railroad part of effort seeking $100 million in federal funds to build spur
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Alaska Railroad is joining in an effort to acquire $100 million in federal infrastructure funding to build a new 18-mile spur to serve a liquefied natural gas plant near Anchorage. The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reports the Matanuska Susitna Borough, Fairbanks North Star Borough, and Interior Gas Utility are also part of […]
Surfliner, Metrolink service to resume in south Orange County
LOS ANGELES — Metrolink commuter rail service in south Orange County, and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner operations between LA and San Diego, were scheduled to resume this morning (Monday, Oct. 4) following the conclusion of emergency repairs to tracks near San Clemente, Calif. Service was halted Sept. 16 after a landslide pushed the rail line out […]
