TIXKOKOB, Mexico — Mexico’s Maya Train experienced its first known derailment today (Monday, March 25), a low-speed incident when the last car of a four-car trainset apparently split a switch entering the Tixkokob station on the route between Campeche and Cancún. The derailment occurred about 9:30 a.m. with the train moving at about 10 kilometers […]
WASHINGTON — Canadian Pacific Kansas City says it has shippers lined up to export grain through the ports of Houston and Galveston, but they’re awaiting a regulatory decision regarding whether unit trains can move over Union Pacific trackage rights south of Beaumont, Texas. CPKC told the Surface Transportation Board last week that it has four […]
DURANGO, Colo. — The final chapter of the long history of coal-powered trains on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad came Saturday, March 23, with a round-trip excursion between Durango and Cascade, Colo., handled by a Baldwin Class K-36 2-8-2 No. 481. The locomotive will now be converted to oil firing, completing conversion of […]
JUNEAU, Alaska — A state legislator has introduced a bill calling for privatization of the Alaska Railroad — although even the bill’s sponsor says the purpose is as much about inspiring discussion as it is about potentially triggering a sale. HB 332, introduced by Rep. Jesse Sumner (R-Wasilla), calls for the state’s governor to request […]
CHICAGO — One of the last industries still receiving freight rail service in downtown Chicago — and one that gave its neighborhood a distinct aroma — is calling it quits. Blommer Chocolate will close its factory at 600 W. Kinzie Street at the end of May because of the increasing costs of running a facility […]
BOSTON — A Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Red Line train derailed this morning (Saturday, March 23) while changing tracks to accommodate a planned service shutdown, WCVB-TV reports. The incident occurred just before 6 a.m. near the Broadway station in South Boston and involved the first car of the trainset. Shuttle buses for a planned shutdown […]
MIAMI — As the Spring Break surge approaches, Brightline continues to seek the right pricing strategy when operating 16 daily fixed-consist round trips between South Florida and Orlando, plus another two to handle early morning and late evening Miami-West Palm Beach travel. A password-protected, 2,044-page supplement to a “Preliminary limited remarketing memorandum relating to $770 […]
CHEHALIS, Wash. — The Chehalis-Centralia Railroad and Museum will resume excursion train operations April 6 after a lengthy hiatus, the organization has announced. The Centralia Chronicle reports Saturday and Sunday excursions are scheduled through Sept. 29, plus Polar Express trains that will begin Nov. 9. The heritage operation halted operations in March 2022 after losing […]
OMAHA — Union Pacific has announced the retirement of three executives, along with a series of appointments to new positions. Retiring are Shane Keller, senior vice president-operations, Northern Region; David Giandinoto, senior vice president-operations, Southern Region; and Lee Myers, assistant vice president-risk management, law. Keller has spent 33 years at UP, joining as an operations […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has increased the length of its grain shuttle trains to 105 cars from 85, a move that allows the railroad to handle 23% more grain in each train. “We’re unlocking capacity to handle more business for both our current and prospective customers,” Chief Marketing Officer Ed Elkins said in a statement. […]
Electrification of railroads North American freight trains are powered by diesel locomotives. Before the diesels, steam engines did the work. Electric trains have a niche hauling passengers in the Northeast. Everyone knows this short history of motive power development, but it’s not quite the whole story. Early electrification of railroads “Diesels,” of course, are properly […]
CHICAGO — Amtrak will operate modified schedules for two Illinois Service trains to allow passengers to better view the solar eclipse coming up on April 8, the passenger operator has announced. On that day, Saluki train No. 391 will depart Chicago earlier, at 6:35 a.m., arriving at Carbondale, Ill., at 12:05 p.m. to reach the […]
