MISSOULA, Mont. – In honor of veterans across Montana, Montana Rail Link has unveiled a special locomotive thanking veterans for their service. In the coming weeks, the railroad will unveil a second locomotive thanking all essential workers for their many contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both locomotives serve as symbols of our appreciation for veterans and […]
Read More…
Wednesday morning rail news:
DC Metro safety plan needs more work, oversight group says
DC Metro’s effort to address its safety issues in its rail operations center was turned down by the agency which oversees the transit system’s safety because of a lack of benchmarks to show the problems have been fully addressed. The Washington […]
Read More…
WASHINGTON — A precipitous decline in business travel during the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted an Amtrak “flash” sale celebrating the 20-year anniversary of Acela’s introduction with a $20 fare between any two Northeast Corridor stations served by the high speed train. Billed as the “The Deal of the Decade(s),” the tickets must be booked by […]
Read More…
WASHINGTON — Intermodal traffic continues to lift overall rail traffic above year-earlier levels in weekly statistics from the Association of American Railroads, with total volume for the week ending Nov. 7, 2020, up 1.3% over the same week in 2019. Weekly intermodal volume was 293,746 containers and trailers, up 10.3% from the same week a […]
Read More…
Tuesday morning preservation and museum news:
NS donates historic ‘Marco Polo’ to Southeastern Railway Museum
Norfolk Southern is donating private car Marco Polo, used by President Franklin D. Roosevelt while in office, to the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, Ga. The car is scheduled to arrive at the museum at 11 a.m. on Nov. 14 […]
Read More…
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 […]
Read More…
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 […]
Read More…
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 […]
Read More…
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 […]
Read More…
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 […]
Read More…
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 […]
Read More…
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, […]
Read More…