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Tuesday morning rail news: Commuter rail, light rail among alternatives to be weighed for Santa Cruz, Calif., transit project The comment period for a proposed transit corridor along a rail branch line serving Santa Cruz, Calif., has begun and continues through Nov. 27. Milestone 3 of the Transit Corridor Alternatives Analysis by the Santa Cruz […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National on Wednesday will unveil two locomotives clad in a special paint scheme saluting veterans in Canada and the United States. November 11, which falls on the day the armistice was signed to end World War I in 1918, is Veterans Day in the U.S. and Remembrance Day in Canada. “CN’s two […]
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden may be known as “Amtrak Joe,” but his administration is expected to have an impact on freight railroading, too. During his campaign for the White House, Biden pledged to require two-person crews on freight trains. Rail labor unions have sought a two-person crew regulation as Class I railroads have implemented […]
Tuesday afternoon rail news: West Virginia announces new site to track blocked grade crossings The Public Service Commission of West Virginia has launched a new online site to report trains blocking grade crossings. By state law, it is illegal for a train to block a crossing for more than 10 minutes except in the case […]
BERLIN — The countries of the European Union have supported a proposal made by the German government to recreate the “Trans Europe Express” (TEE) system of international trains, which in the 1950s to 1970s represented the best and most luxurious international trains in Western Europe. Partly inspired by the Swedish “flight shaming” movement which seeks […]
More Monday morning rail news: NS coal train derails in Illinois Twenty-four cars of a Norfolk Southern coal train derailed in Panama, Ill., Sunday morning, according to a Facebook post by the Chris-Mont Emergency Management Agency. A press release from the agency says the Shoal Creek Fire Protection District was dispatched to the derailment at […]
Still more Monday morning rail news: New Buffalo Amtrak station opens Amtrak’s new downtown Buffalo, N.Y., station opened Sunday, with the $28 million structure replacing a building from 1952 that had occupied the same spot. The Buffalo News reports the new building, at 4,800 square feet, is about three times as large as its predecessor, […]
Monday morning rail news: Canada revises rules on cold-weather speed restrictions for hazardous-material trains Canada’s Minister of Transport on Friday issued an order modifying previous rules regarding train operation in cold weather, basing the new rule on temperatures rather than a winter date range. As with the previous rule, issued in April [see “Canada issues […]
CHICAGO — Metra’s first bike car — a Pullman-Standard coach with seating removed on half of the lower level, creating space for 16 bicycles — made its debut Saturday, a biking-friendly day of unseasonable temperatures in the 70s. Metra unveiled the car on Thursday, saying its debut had been delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic […]
CHICAGO — Metra will introduce its first bike car — a coach with room for 16 bicycles, instead of the usual five — on Saturday on the Milwaukee District North Line, and will relax its bicycle policy to allow bikes on all trains across its 11 lines as of Monday, Nov. 9. There will still […]
NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk Southern has reduced its number of operating divisions to six from nine, continuing an industry trend toward larger divisional territories. The move was effective Nov. 1, Chief Operating Officer Cindy Sanborn wrote in a memo to employees. The Southern Region, which previously included the Alabama, Georgia, and Piedmont divisions, is now […]
DC Metro has selected Hitachi Rail to build its next generation of railcars, ending a two-year search for a manufacturer. The Washington Post reports Metro officials sent Hitachi a notice of intent to award the contract — for 256 cars, with options that could boost the total order to 800 — on Sept. 30. If all options […]
