Caltrain to reduce schedules to accommodate electrification work

Caltrain logo

SAN CARLOS, Calif. — Bay Area commuter operator Caltrain will begin three weeks of reduced weekday service on March 14 to accommodate electrification of the service’s route between San Francisco and San Jose. Work at the Broadway, Burlingame, San Mateo, Hayward Park, and Hillsdale stations will require single-tracking, which in turn necessitates the schedule reductions. […]

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Fertilizer firm asks Canadian government to block rail strike

Logo of fertilizer company Nutrien

SASKATOON, Saskatchewan — Fertilizer firm Nutrien is asking the Canadian government to block a potential Canadian Pacific strike, saying an interruption to rail service could lead to smaller crop harvests, Bloomberg reports. Teamster Canada Rail Coalition members voted in favor of a strike against CP, the union announced earlier this week [see “Teamsters Canava vote …,” […]

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Amtrak extends cuts to seven long-distance routes into May

Passenger train passes commuter-train station

WASHINGTON — Travelers already booked on some Amtrak long-distance trains in April and May are being advised today (Thursday, March 3) to rebook their trips as the passenger carrier extends its frequency reductions on seven routes. Amtrak had cut service from daily to five days a week on most of its long-distance routes in January, […]

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Fred Frailey’s Powder River Basin

Green and yellow locomotives lead a coal train through green grasslands. Title: Fred Frailey's Powder River Basin.

The Powder River Basin was North America’s last, great railroading frontier. By the time of Fred W. Frailey’s article in 1989, PRB was served by Class I railroads where before railroads scarcely traveled — all in the later half of the 20th century. Enter your email address below to read this classic 24-page article that […]

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STB sets schedule for submissions in Amtrak-CN dispute

Passenger train stops at station

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has set a schedule for submission of evidence and arguments in a long-running disagreement between Amtrak and Canadian National over Amtrak operations on CN routes. The case dates to a July 20, 2013, filing by Amtrak asking the board to establish terms and compensation for use of CN’s rail […]

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Shippers back CP-KCS merger if regulators impose conditions to protect competition

Train with red locomotives passing through industrial area.

WASHINGTON — Shippers say they will support the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger so long as regulatory approval of the first Class I combination in two decades includes conditions that would protect competition. The broadest coalition of shipper groups — the American Chemistry Council, The Fertilizer Institute, and the National Industrial Transportation League — in a […]

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Teamsters Canada vote approves strike against Canadian Pacific

Teamsters_Canada_logo

CALGARY, Alberta — Members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference have approved a possible strike against Canadian Pacific, the union reported to members after a strike vote concluded on Feb. 28. Union officials said 3,062 ballots were sent out to members. While it did not report the number of ballots returned, 96.7% of those voting […]

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Alternatives to LaGuardia AirTrain released

Map showing connection between LaGuardia and Kennedy airports in New York

NEW YORK — Light rail, express buses, ferry service, and subway extensions are among the new public-transit options to connect Manhattan and LaGuardia Airport released Wednesday by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The website amNY.com reports a total of 14 options are offered as alternatives to the controversial AirTrain project that […]

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Ottawa launched light rail service prematurely, builder says

Damaged side of light rail car

OTTAWA — The consortium that built and operates Ottawa’s problem-plagued light rail Confederation Line has claimed the city launched the service before it was ready and without consulting with the builders, according to a court document filed in a dispute between the city and contractor. The CBC reports Rideau Transit Group CEO Nicolas Truchon makes […]

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OmniTRAX railroad purchases battery locomotive

Green and white locomotive

CLEVELAND — OmniTRAX’s Newburgh & South Shore has purchased a battery-electric locomotive, becoming the first short line in Ohio to deploy such a unit. The GP9-based locomotive from AMPS Traction features 1,700 gross horsepower, reduces fuel consumption by half, and cuts NOx emissions and particulate matter by 77%, removing 4.2 tones of nitrogen oxide from […]

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