Washington woman pleads guilty in rail terrorism case

BNSF Railway logo

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A Bellingham woman has pleaded guilty to a terrorism charge and violence against a railroad carrier as a result of a November 2020 incident involving BNSF Railway in the Bellingham area. The Associated Press reports Samantha Frances Brooks, 27, entered a guilty plea in July and a federal judge accepted the plea last […]

Read More…

Norfolk Southern train derails in Missouri (updated)

Derailed auto racks

HUNTINGTON, Mo. — An estimated 33 cars of a Norfolk Southern train, many of them carrying new automobiles, derailed Monday afternoon in northern Ralls County, Mo. No injuries or hazardous material spills were reported. KHQA-TV reports the Missouri State Highway Patrol and other first responders were notified of the derailment about 12:15 p.m. The accident […]

Read More…

Transport Canada approves new switching rules

Transport Canada logo

OTTAWA, Ontario — Transport Canada has approved new rules to address uncontrolled movement of railway equipment during switching. The approved rules, announced July 30, determine when air brakes must be used during switching, to ensure a consistent approach across the rail system; measure to secure stationary equipment during switching operations; and speed restrictions when switching […]

Read More…

Union Pacific reopens Dry Canyon Bridge (updated)

Train crossing bridge next to construction equipment

WEED, Calif. — Union Pacific has reopened the Dry Canyon Bridge a month ahead of its original estimate, allowing the railroad to resume operations on its I-5 Corridor line between California and the Pacific Northwest. The railroad initially estimated the bridge would not be completed until Sept. 1, but last week said it could be […]

Read More…

Woman injured in ‘ghost-hunting’ search at Buffalo station

azzy and immense, New York Central’s Buffalo station opened in June 1929. Its site 2 miles from downtown was chosen for operational convenience, not ease of passenger access. Pennsy and TH&B also used it, but Buffalo’s other roads called elsewhere. Amtrak quit the place in 1979; the terminal’s size and location have hampered preservationists’ dogged efforts to reuse it. A portion of a 1929 Walter L. Greene painting shows J-1 Hudson 5200 at the new terminal. NYC

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Ghost hunting can apparently be a dangerous activity. The Buffalo News reports a 35-year-old Kenmore, N.Y., woman was injured Saturday night during a ghost-hunting expedition at Buffalo’s landmark Central Terminal railroad station. The woman fell 15 to 20 feet through a substation roof near the back of the station property while exploring […]

Read More…

Kansas City Southern responds to CP appeal to shareholders

Logos for Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, and Kansas City Southern

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern has fired back at Canadian Pacific’s appeal to its stockholders to turn down the proposed merger with Canadian National, saying those stockholders should focus on the fact CN’s offer is worth $50 more per share than the last CP proposal. CP filed a proxy statement asking KCS shareholders […]

Read More…

‘California Zephyr’ route closed by Colorado mudslides

Man unloads luggage from Superliner car

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. — Massive mudslides have washed out Union Pacific’s former Denver & Rio Grande Western route through Glenwood Canyon, east of Glenwood Springs, while also blocking part of adjacent Interstate 70. The slides not only have disrupted Amtrak’s California Zephyrs, which normally pass in the area between crew change points in Denver and […]

Read More…

Feinberg steps down as interim head of New York City Transit

Head shot of female MTA official

NEW YORK — Sarah Feinberg has stepped down after 17 months as interim president of New York City Transit, but she may not be finished with the parent Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Feinberg’s last day came Friday, a day after the former head of the Federal Railroad Administration first told the New York Post of her […]

Read More…

Don Colangelo, Genesee Valley’s ‘Alco doc,’ retires

Man with hard hat in blue shirt, standing in front of shop building

SCRANTON, Pa. — Don Colangelo, the Genesee Valley Transportation vice president, mechanical, who gained renown as the “Alco doc” for keeping the company’s fleet of American Locomotive Co. diesels healthy, is retiring this month. Colangelo spent some four decades in railroad, more than 25 of those with Genesee Valley, which saw its fleet of Alco […]

Read More…

MBTA light rail collision injures 25

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority logo

BOSTON — The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate after one Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority light rail train rear-ended another Friday, July 30, injuring 25, including operators on both vehicles. The Boston Globe reports the accident occurred on the Green Line B Branch, on Commonwealth Avenue in front of the Boston University campus. The injured […]

Read More…