Tuesday afternoon rail news: KCS to set goal for greenhouse gas reduction Kansas City Southern has pledged to set a goal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, submitting a commitment letter to the Science Based Targets Initiative to establish a target to align with what climate scientists say is needed to meet the Paris Agreement goal […]
Tuesday morning rail news: Trottenberg, former NYC transportation commissioner, nominated as deputy transportation secretary Former New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg will be nominated as U.S. Deputy Secretary for Transportation, the transition team for President-elect Joe Biden has announced. A press release announcing the appointment calls Trottenberg “a nationally recognized transportation leader […]
CHICAGO — The schedules that Metra ran before the COVID-19 pandemic are likely gone for good, Executive Director and CEO Jim Derwinski says, and the process of determining the nature of service that takes the place of those schedules will likely take some time. “We have a core belief that our old schedules mostly won’t […]
For the first time since a fatal derailment in December 2017, Amtrak trains ran on Washington’s Point Defiance Bypass, the intended passenger-only route to shift trains off the coastal line shared with BNSF Railway freight traffic. Test trains on Saturday and Sunday on the 14-mile line between Tacoma and Nisqually Junction are for familiarization and […]
BURLINGTON, Vt. — Robert C. Jones, educator, railroader, and prolific author, died on Jan. 13 at age 86 of natural causes at his Vermont home. A graduate of the University of Vermont and St. Michael’s College, he was a teacher for 32 years. He wrote, co-wrote, or edited 24 books of northern New England Railroad […]
Still more Monday morning rail news: Utah governor indicates preference for gondola system to service ski areas, but says decision has not been made Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is leaning toward seeing a gondola system, rather than a cog railway or enhanced bus service, as the solution to traffic in Little Cottonwood Canyon, the route […]
Monday morning rail news: Massachusetts governor signs transportation bond bill, blocks legislation requiring MBTA to reverse service cuts Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has signed a $16.5 billion transportation bond bill while vetoing specific elements of the legislation, and has vetoed a bill which would have required the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to use its federal […]
By: Dan Cupper ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — The non-profit that owns the East Broad Top Railroad in Pennsylvania is looking to acquire a few standard-gauge freight cars, to be used to show how the narrow gauge line handled standard gauge cars using special transfer trucks and cast-aluminum coupler adapters. “We’re looking to replicate the post-World […]
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board took a victory lap last week over the implementation of positive train control, the landmark safety system that it first recommended after the head-on collision of two Penn Central commuter trains in 1969. “Over the next five decades we investigated one crash after another that could have been […]
More Monday morning rail news: Avon, Colo., officials approve paying half of fees for legal challenges to Tennessee Pass plan Officials in Avon, Colo., have agreed to having the town of 6,500 pay half the fees to any legal challenge to a plan to revive rail service over Tennessee Pass. The Vail Daily reports Eagle […]
Amtrak alters schedules south of Washington on Jan. 19-20 Amtrak will not operate Northeast Regional service south of Washington, D.C., on Jan. 19-20, because of travel restrictions stemming from the Presidential inauguration. Also, the Carolinian will only operate between Raleigh and Charlotte on those dates. An Amtrak advisory also informs passengers to allow extra time […]
Saturday rail news: FTA releases final environmental statement, record of decision for SEPTA King of Prussia project The Federal Transit Administration has identified the preferred route for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s planned extension to King of Prussia, Pa., as part of a combined Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision for the 3.5-mile […]
