WASHINGTON — Montana Rail Link has moved one step closer to closing up shop and turning over its operations to BNSF Railway. MRL on Nov. 18 asked federal regulators for permission to discontinue service over 656.47 miles of track in Montana and Idaho as part of the early termination of its lease with BNSF, according […]
After a two-year absence — and a late reversal of a decision made earlier in the year – the CSX Santa Train returned for its 110-mile run on the railroad’s former Clinchfield route between Shelby Yard in Pikeville, Ky., and Kingsport, Tenn, on Saturday. The train, marking its 80th anniversary, drew large crowds en route. […]
Engineers and conductors have rendered a split decision in their respective union votes over the tentative agreements reached with the U.S. Class I railroads, the unions said this morning. By the slimmest of margins, conductors represented by the SMART-TD union rejected the deal, fueling the prospects of a nationwide strike that could begin as soon […]
WASHINGTON, Iowa — The city of Washington has become the latest to accept an offer from Canadian Pacific for funds to address impacts of its potential merger with Kansas City Southern, approving a deal worth at least $255,000 at its most recent city council meeting The Southeast Iowa Union reported today (Monday, Nov. 21) that […]
SILVIS, Ill. — Union Pacific’s hospital train of historic equipment from Cheyenne, Wyo. arrived at the Silvis shops of Railroading Heritage of Midwest America late on the afternoon of Saturday, Nov. 19, just ahead of planned ceremonies to mark donation of the locomotives and other rolling stock. The equipment, including 4-6-6-4 Challenger No. 3985, 2-10-2 No. […]
AURORA, Colo. — A 4-mile section of the Regional Transportation District’s light rail R Line, shut down since a Sept. 21 derailment, should reopen the week of Nov. 28, the RTD has announced. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission has approved an RTD plan to address issues at the intersection of Sable Boulevard and Exposition Avenue, […]
OTTAWA — The Canadian government would gain new abilities to require railroads to create security management systems, and to grant or cancel transportation security clearances, under a proposed set of legislative amendments introduced last week by Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra. Those authorities and others are part of the Strengthening the Port System and Railway […]
WASHINGTON — Few railroads participate in a voluntary Federal Railroad Administration program to report situations that could have resulted in serious accidents, and those that do find notable flaws in the program, according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The report summary notes that as of August 2022, only 23 of the […]
PITTSBURGH — Wabtec has reached agreement to acquire Super Metal, a leading Brazilian supplier of automated vehicles and other maintenance-of-way equipment. Wabtec describes the deal as complementing its 2021 acquisition of U.S. maintenance equipment manufacturer Nordco [see “Wabtec to acquire …,” Trains News Wire, March 23, 2021] and accelerating its strategy of expansion into international […]
WASHINGTON — Representatives of a broad range of rail industry interests are among the 25 voting members appointed to the Surface Transportation Security Advisory Committee, as announced last week by the Transportation Security Administration. The committee was established in 2019 to advise the TSA administrator on matters including recommendations for development and implementation of policies, […]
On the Utah Railway, three six-motor Alco diesels —RSD4 301, RSD5 306, and RSD4 302 — descend Soldier Summit with a loaded coal train in 1970. J. David Ingles photo […]
BUFFALO, N.Y. — After a two-day hiatus while up to 6 feet of heavy lake-effect snow fell in Buffalo, Amtrak trains were moving again today (Sunday, Nov. 20) through western New York even as many area roads remained impassable. Meanwhile, with the Thanksgiving holiday — and its usual heavy ridership — approaching, operating obstacles cropped […]
