Second of two parts. Part one is available here. CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. railroads are hiring to meet future freight demand after years of furloughs and cutbacks that only worsened during the pandemic. At the same time, railroads have grappled with steep declines in coal and macroeconomic conditions. Now railroads appear to be rebalancing headcount […]
WASHINGTON — Legislators used a House subcommittee hearing on railroad safety today (Tuesday, July 23) to highlight a new rail safety bill, while committee members and witnesses including regulators, union representatives, and the House member representing East Palestine questioned the rail industry’s own safety efforts. The revised bill, the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act (H.R. 8996), […]
MONTREAL – The busiest section of the Canadian National main line is shut down today due to a fast-moving wildfire in Jasper, Alberta. Officials ordered an evacuation of Jasper as well as visitors to Jasper National Park overnight as the fire spread and left only a westbound escape route out of town, according to Canada’s […]
DALLAS — Repairs to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit light rail system in downtown Dallas will continue until at least the evening of Wednesday, July 24, following a Sunday morning accident, the transit agency said Monday. The light rail system lost power the central business district after a Dallas Fire Rescue truck skidded off an […]
First of two parts. CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Navigating macroeconomic headwinds and steep declines in coal, three of the big four U.S. railroads now employ more engineers and conductors than they did a year ago, but headcount is still mostly below pre-pandemic 2019. Railroads are =using new hires to improve service performance and grow future business […]
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — Apparently, trains vs. garages is the latest trend in derailments. A CSX locomotive overran the end of a wye at the railroad’s Niagara Falls Yard, derailed, and leveled a brick garage on Monday, July 22, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reports, spilling up to 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel. It was […]
WASHINGTON — The probable cause of a grade crossing collision that killed a Norfolk Southern conductor in Cleveland last year was the crew’s failure to follow a railroad rule requiring a member of the crew to be on the ground at the private crossing, the National Transportation Safety Board said today. The conductor of NS […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration’s report on the Norfolk Southern hazardous materials derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, reached the same conclusions as the National Transportation Safety Board’s broader and more exhaustive probe. But the FRA report, released on Friday afternoon, did contain some key differences. First, the FRA did not comment on the post-derailment […]
NEW YORK —Amtrak service between New York and New Haven has been restored as of 2 p.m. after unscheduled track repairs, the passenger operator said in a 2 p.m. ET post on its website. Newsday, in a paywalled article, reports the problem was a broken rail in the Bronx. This would fit with the supposition […]
BENNET, Neb. — BNSF Railway Police believe a 17-year-old Nebraska boy intentionally caused a derailment earlier this year, recording it and posting it on line. The Lincoln Journal Star reports the BNSF police have referred the boy to the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office for prosecution of felony criminal mischief as a result of the April […]
GULL LAKE, Sask. — Approximately 18 cars of a CPKC freight train derailed Sunday evening about a mile east of the town of Gull Lake on Sunday evening. The Regina Leader-Post reports there were no injuries and no hazardous materials involved, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which reported the incident about 7:40 p.m. […]
BNSF has reopened the main lines involved in both its derailments on Saturday, July 20, the railroad reports. The first of those incidents occurred about 12:45 a.m. near Ottawa, Kan., on the railroad’s Emporia Subdivision [see “BNSF deals with two derailments,” Trains News Wire, July 20, 2024]. One main line there was reopened at 8:30 […]
