WASHINGTON – One of the complicating factors in CSX Transportation’s proposed acquisition of Pan Am Railways — the Pan Am Southern joint venture with Norfolk Southern — is proving to be a lightning rod. Last week, the Justice Department said the Surface Transportation Board should force CSX to sell its stake in Pan Am Southern […]
Section: News Wire
Amtrak asks federal regulators to impose conditions on CSX-Pan Am merger (updated)
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has urged federal regulators to impose conditions on CSX Transportation’s proposed acquisition of Pan Am Railways that would protect current and potential expansions of passenger service in New England. The CSX-Pan Am merger is the first before the Surface Transportation Board in which passenger trains account for the majority of traffic on […]
Canadian Pacific says CSX-Pan Am merger threatens viability of Hoosac Tunnel route
WASHINGTON – CSX Transportation’s proposed acquisition of Pan Am Railways threatens the viability of the former Boston & Maine Hoosac Tunnel route that provides competition for CSX’s own New England main line, Canadian Pacific has told federal regulators. The vast majority of CP’s traffic to and from New England runs via Mechanicville, N.Y., and the […]
Canadian Pacific derailment in Iowa leads to evacuations
NEW HAMPTON, Iowa — Canadian Pacific emergency crews remained on site Sunday, addressing a Saturday derailment of six locomotives and 11 cars of a CP train near New Hampton. Canadian Pacific reports that one car carrying anhydrous ammonia derailed into floodwaters and leaked product. “Supporting and working closely with local emergency response officials, our priority […]
News photo: Wabtec battery-electric locomotive on the move
ERIE, Pa. — Wabtec’s FLXdrive battery-electric locomotive is on the road again. The demonstrator unit returned to the company’s Erie factory after concluding BNSF Railway testing in California in April [see “Wabtec, BNSF conclude initial tests …,” Trains News Wire, April 30, 2021], left the factory on Friday in the company of ET44C6 demonstrator […]
Western Maryland Scenic No. 1309 to operate by mid-December, executive director says
CUMBERLAND, Md. — Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 will operate for Polar Express rides in December, if not sooner, the railroad’s new executive director says. Wesley Heinz told the Cumberland Times-News that “Sometime between today and Polar Express [rides scheduled for Dec. 17], No. 1309 will make it out onto the line. We […]
VTA light rail service returns
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority resumed limited light rail service on Sunday, more than three months after service was shut down following a mass shooting at the agency’s Guadalupe rail yard. “As we continue to bring back employees safely and compassionately,” the agency said in a statement on its website, […]
Last segment of Atlanta Beltline project faces rail obstacles
ATLANTA — Planning work is beginning on the final segment of Atlanta’s Beltline project, which is using inactive rail rights-of-way for most of its 22-mile route. But, as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, no such route exists for its 4.4-mile northwestern segment, while an active railroad yard is one of the major barriers to be faced. […]
UP train derails near site of 1991 Northern California chemical spill
DUNSMUIR, Calif. — Twenty cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Friday in Northern California’s Siskiyou County near the site of a 1991 derailment that spilled chemicals into the Sacramento River, leading to a massive kill-off of fish and health problems for those who responded to the accident. The Sacramento Bee reports no spills were […]
Viewliner II sleeping cars headed to Lake Shore Limited’s New York section
WASHINGTON — As the last two of 25 Viewliner II sleeping cars departed carbuilder CAF USA’s Elmira Heights, N.Y., factory this week, an Amtrak official has confirmed that some of the new cars will replace original Viewliners on the New York section of the Lake Shore Limited after Labor Day. “I’m happy to share that […]
With hurricane approaching, Amtrak cancels service to, from New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS — Amtrak has cancelled all service in and out of New Orleans beginning early Saturday in advance of Hurricane Ida, which is expected to make landfall this Sunday. This is necessary so railroad flood gates adjacent to levees can be closed and sealed to prevent any possible storm surge from entering the city. […]
Man shot at Chicago Union Station was wanted for California murder four days earlier
CHICAGO — The man killed by Amtrak police in a shootout at Chicago Union Station on Tuesday had allegedly shot and killed a man in Oakland just four days before. Jamar Jason Taylor, 33, of San Leandro, Calif., died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital after being shot in an exchange of gunfire with police on a […]
