Canada’s Minister of Transport, Marc Garneau, has announced new orders restricting speeds of trains transporting hazardous materials, and updating rules regarding track safety and inspections. The first of the three ministerial orders issued Friday replaces temporary rules issued on Feb. 6 in response to a Canadian Pacific derailment and fire [see “Canadian government orders speed […]
Sunday rail news related to the coronavirus pandemic: — D.C. Metro will further reduce rail and bus service on Monday, with rail service ending at 9 p.m. and bus service ending at 11 p.m. Service will begin at 5 a.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. on weekends. In announcing the cuts, Metro said the decision […]
Amtrak has begun another round of service cuts as ridership declines continue because of the coronavirus. The latest changes, all effective Monday, April 6: — The Downeaster will reduce operations to one round trip a day, in keeping with Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ executive order that no one will use public transportation except for an […]
Set up to be transported like a trailer, a donated Black Mesa & Lake Powell hopper car prepares to leave the Navajo Generating Station in Page, Ariz., for its trip to the Arizona Railroad Heritage Park and Museum. Arizona State Railroad Museum Foundation More Saturday morning rail news: — Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee has […]
Saturday morning COVID-19-related rail news: — Several transit agencies have announced further service cuts. – Altamont Corridor Express will reduce service by an additional round trip as of Monday. Trains 5 and 6 are suspended until further notice; with trains 7 and 10 having been suspended in March, the service now provides two weekday roundtrips, […]
More Friday morning rail news: — The driver of the train was killed and three others were injured Thursday night when a freight train collided with a portion of a bridge that had fallen onto the tracks at a construction site in Augen, Germany. Railfreight.com reports the train operated by the Swiss company BLS was […]
A cab car leads an inbound Metra North Central Service train as it halts at the Libertyville-Prairie Crossing station, with an almost empty parking lot, on Thursday afternoon, April 2, 2020. Metra is closing cab cars to passengers to protect train crews. TRAINS: David Lassen A Friday morning update of coronavirus-related rail news: — Metra […]
Bloomberg is reporting that oil companies may be looking for tank cars to store an excess of crude oil in the U.S. Companies are running out of convenient places to store crude oil while prices hover just over $22 a barrel in national markets and domestic supplies remain high amid a demand slowdown during the coronavirus pandemic. […]
MONTREAL – Canadian National continues to scale back its operations as traffic declines amid the coronavirus pandemic. The railroad furloughed several hundred people in the past week, on top of the 1,400 who were furloughed in the past couple of weeks, CEO JJ Ruest said on an investor webcast Thursday. CN’s traffic was down 13% […]
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) today announced a total of $25 billion in Federal funding allocations to help the Nation’s public transportation systems respond to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Funding is provided through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed by President Donald J. Trump […]
NEW DEHLI — Indian Railways is working to convert at least 5,000 passenger cars into temporary hospital space, Bloomberg news reports. The conversion process includes installing mosquito nets, charging stations for mobile devices and computers, and working space for paramedics. With its 125 hospitals, the railroad is making room for about 6,500 beds to handle […]
More Thursday rail news: — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has begun taking temperatures of its employees in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. WCVB-TV reports that MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak told employees in an email that the procedure was to begin Wednesday with those involved in bus operations and will […]
