OTTAWA — Transport Canada has announced regulatory revisions to address issues involving runaway trains and equipment. Changes to the Canadian Rail Operating Rules and Locomotive Inspection and Safety Rules will set performance standards for locomotives equipped with rollaway protection, designed to automatically apply brakes when there is unintended movement; requirements before leaving a locomotive, such […]
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WASHINGTON — Weekly U.S. rail traffic figures remain below 2021 levels, although the degree of decline continues to vary significantly from week to week. Statistics from the Association of American Railroads, for the week ending May 14, show overall traffic down 5.4% compared to the corresponding week a year earlier. This follows a 3.5% decline […]
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MOBILE, Ala. — With the sound of shattering glass and a big splash of champagne, Genesee & Wyoming short line CG Railway on Wednesday christened one of its new rail ferries that can haul up to 135 freight cars across the Gulf of Mexico. Virginia Reeves, a 34-year G&W employee who works in corporate communications, […]
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BOSTON — Canadian National is taking a back-to-basics approach under new CEO Tracy Robinson. The first order of business is to improve the railway’s velocity, which since last fall has generally been running below 2020 and 2021 levels when measured by the average number of miles cars travel per day. “As we bring the schedule […]
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DURANGO, Colo. — The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge temporarily suspended operations this week because of fire danger just eight days into its spring season, reflecting new operating rules the railroad agreed to as part of a settlement with the federal government earlier this year. The Durango Herald reports trains stopped running as of Sunday, […]
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WASHINGTON — The fallout from DC Metrorail’s failure to maintain retraining and certification for its train operators has claimed its two top officials, as the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority board accepted the resignation of outgoing General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld and Chief Operating Officer Joseph Leader. Meanwhile, the transit agency took another hit on […]
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LOS ANGELES — Commuter rail operator Metrolink has named Frank Castellon as its chief safety, security, and compliance officer. Castellon’s background includes safety and security systems with Portland-area agency TriMet, Valley Metro in Phoenix, LA Metro, and Bombardier Transportation North America. Most recently, he was vice president of environmental, health, safety, and quality for Peak […]
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ORANGE, Calif. — Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner is adding a carry-on pet program beginning May 20, expanding the locations where the passenger operator allows passengers to bring along small dogs and cats. Dogs and cats weighing up to 20 pounds may be brought aboard in a carrier which should remain under the passenger’s seat. There is […]
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WASHINGTON — Sixteen of 43 Amtrak routes, none of them long-distance operations, met the 80% customer on-time performance threshold established by the Federal Railroad Administration in first-quarter 2022 statistics released Tuesday by the FRA. The latest quarterly stats are the first to use all of the metrics established by the FRA [see “FRA publishes final […]
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Cody Grivno explains what the louvres are for on both the E and F units from Electro-Motive Division in this video of Ask Trains. Do you have questions about parts on full-size trains, or would you like to know how to add those details to your model trains? Send us an email at: AskTrains@trains.com ………………………………… […]
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SANFORD, N.C. — One of just two RS1325 locomotives built by EMD, which had been in danger of being scrapped, may be saved following a Facebook post from a local railfan sounding an alert about the diesel’s status. Former Chicago & Illinois Midland No. 30 has been at North Carolina’s Atlantic & Western Railway since […]
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