Thursday morning rail news: RCMP begins investigation of fatal Canadian Pacific derailment The major crimes unit of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has opened a criminal investigation into the fatal derailment of a runaway Canadian Pacific train near Field, British Columbia, in February 2019. The CBC reports the investigation is being opened after consultation between […]
CHICAGO — Food service on Amtrak’s long-distance trains has become such an exercise in repetition that something as modest as the cold meal service on the Portland, Ore., section of the Empire Builder is both a notable and welcome respite. That’s one aspect of the current state of onboard dining, which suggests both immediate and […]
More Thursday morning rail news: CSX train hits boulder, derails in Kentucky A CSX Transportation train has derailed in Harlan County, Ky., after striking a boulder that fell from a cliff face across an adjacent highway, WKYT-TV reports. The rockfall and derailment has closed State Route 2007 between Wallins and Coldiron, Ky. The derailment occurred […]
More Thursday morning rail news: NS will furlough mechanical department employees, offers no details on number or locations Norfolk Southern will be furloughing mechanical department employees at multiple locations across its system, WSLS-TV reports. In a statement, the railroad did not indicate the locations or number of employees to be affected, but said the move […]
NJ Transit rail service remains suspended as a result of the winter storm currently hitting the Northeast, but other major commuter rail services continue to operate in some form as of Thursday morning. NJ Transit suspended all commuter rail operations as of 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and they remain halted, along with Newark and Hudson-Bergen light […]
WASHINGTON — The continued upswing in grain traffic is helping reduce the drop in U.S. carload rail traffic, while intermodal strength continues to lift overall volume above 2019 levels in the latest weekly statistics released by the Association of American Railroads. For the week ending Dec. 12, the total of 238,193 carloads was 2.2% below […]
While Amtrak has cancelled a number of trains in the Northeast as it deals with a major storm, it is also taking extra precautions with those trains that are operating. This morning in Wilmington, Del., train No. 170 had P42 diesel No. 90 operating behind ACS-64 electric No. 619 as a backup in case of […]
No injuries resulted when a CSX coal train derailed after striking a rockslide in the Harlan County community Wallins Creek, Ky. Two locomotives and eight cars derailed. WYMT-TV quotes CSX spokeswoman Cindy Schild as saying the derailment occurred about 2:09 a.m., and no leaks or spills into waterways occurred. A state transportation department spokesman said […]
Wednesday morning rail news: Amtrak Office of Inspector General reports issues with PTC implementation A report from Amtrak’s Office of Inspector General says the passenger railroad expects to achieve positive train control interoperability by the Dec. 31, 2020, deadline, but can take steps to better ensure its systems are reliable, and that the company faces […]
Buttigieg served for eight years as mayor of South Bend, Ind., a city of about 100,000, crisscrossed by two busy freight railroads, a stop on two Amtrak long-distance routes and the eastern terminus of a commuter train to downtown Chicago. Biden’s onetime rival for the nomination supported a project to add 16.9 miles of double […]
Additional Wednesday morning rail news: CN, partners to open logistics park in Mobile, Ala. Canadian National will join with the Alabama Export Railroad and Ray-Mont Logistics on a new logistics park in Mobile, Ala., projected to open in late 2021. The first phase of the project will be a facility for bagging and containerizing plastic […]
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board is recommending increased use of buffer cars in trains with DOT-111 tank cars carrying hazardous materials as a result of investigations into two derailments. The recommendation issued Tuesday recommends at least five non-placarded cars be placed between locomotives or occupied equipment and those carrying hazardous materials, regardless of […]
