Digest: Caltrain adjusting schedules as of March 22

Caltrain logo

Caltrain schedule changes include two more weekday trains Caltrain will make schedule changes as of March 22, adjusting its weekday and weekend schedules to support regional transit connections. In a press release, the commuter railroad says the changes will maintain connections with BART at the Millbrae Transit Center to coincide with BART’s March 22 schedule […]

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Digest: Transportation Safety Board of Canada releases report on 2019 CP collision, derailment

Locomotives off track after collision

Crew misunderstanding, lack of ‘physical defenses’ play part in CP Calgary accident, TSB says A yard crew’s misunderstanding of track permission granted to an intermodal train, along with a lack of “physical defenses” such as signals, led to a collision and derailment of two Canadian Pacific trains near Calgary’s Alyth Yard in March 2019, the […]

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Digest: LA Union Station to be one of two sites for Academy Awards

Large waiting room at LA Union Station

LA Union Station to host part of Oscars ceremony Los Angeles Union Station will be one of the two venues for this year’s Academy Awards ceremony, Variety reports. The station, built in 1939, is a frequent setting for films, but has never been part of the Oscars. It will be used this year, along with […]

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Six hospitalized when Phoenix light rail train derails after collision with vehicle

Logo of Valley Metro Transit, Phoenix

Six hospitalized when Phoenix light rail train derails after collision with vehicle Six people were hospitalized Sunday evening after a Phoenix light rail train derailed following a collision with a vehicle. KNXV-TV reports the accident occurred about 4:45 p.m., and a photo appears to show the light rail vehicle hit one of the supports for […]

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News Photos: Talgos’ final resting place

Two Amtrak Cascades Talgo Series VI  trainsets’ final resting place before scrapping is Coast Rail Services in Anaheim, Calif., as seen on March 6, 2021. The distinctive passive-tilt equipment, owned by Washington, was removed from service at the end of June 2020, along with two trainsets owned by Amtrak. The Amtrak Series VI trainsets were […]

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Digest: BNSF train derails in California desert, spilling alcohol

A vertical image of a train derailment in an arid landscape with low-angle sunlight.

BNSF derailment leads to spill of denatured alcohol Some 25 to 35 cars of a BNSF train derailed Wednesday near the remote San Bernardino County, Calif., community of Ludlow, spilling “several thousand gallons” of denatured alcohol from a leaking tank car, according to a county fire department spokesman. The Victor Valley Daily Press reports the […]

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Digest: San Francisco cable cars return this fall, streetcars sooner

A San Francisco cable car in a street.

San Francisco streetcars to return in May, cable cars back in fall San Francisco will revive its historic streetcar F Line in May and its cable cars this fall — with the latter representing a turnaround from prior suggestions that return of the city’s signature transit system was in doubt because of cost and declining […]

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Santa Fe switchman vividly remembers San Francisco barge fire

Locomotive works with freight cars on a floating barge connected to land. Black and white.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe’s dock at Ferry Point outside of San Francisco burned May 4, 1984. I was on the job in 1984 and remember the fire vividly. The Santa Fe ceased tug-and-barge service across the San Francisco Bay shortly after. When I hired out in the mid-1970s, west end jobs were responsible for […]

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Father and son try to recreate a California trip from Santa Fe’s heyday

A passenger train on a track on a rocky embankment by a body of water.

I decided to make history repeat itself in August 2000, when my son, Liam, was 4. I wanted Liam to experience a train ride that I took with my grandfather 50 years ago. My grandfather had taken me on passenger trains from the San Francisco Bay Area to the San Joaquin Valley town of Merced, […]

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San Francisco Muni to resume subway light rail operations in May

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San Franciscon Muni to resume some subway light rail service in May San Francisco Muni will resume some subway light rail service in May, the next step in the gradual and long-delayed restoration of service halted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The San Francisco Chronicle reports service on the N Judah and T Third line […]

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California high speed rail project’s future in hands of state legislature

An illustration from the California High-Speed Rail Authority's new business plan shows a station for the high speed line. California High-Speed Rail Authority

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The fate of California’s high speed rail project hangs on a funding decision the California legislature will make before adopting the new state budget in June. “I do think it’s time to decide: Is California committed to moving to electrified, clean, high speed rail as a way to move people around the […]

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Digest: New Coaster locomotives, refurbished cars debut

Blue and green bilevel commuter coach

Tuesday morning rail news: North County Transit District debuts new Coaster locomotives, refurbished cars San Diego’s North County Transit District placed the first five of its new Siemens Charger locomotives into service Monday, along with several newly renovated passenger cars. The locomotives, which began testing in October [see “News Photo: New Coaster locomotives begin testing,” Trains News Wire, […]

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