Western railroads struggle with off-rail intermodal supply chain problems

RochelleGlobal3

CHICAGO — Union Pacific may temporarily reopen its idled Global III intermodal terminal in Rochelle, Ill., to help relieve congestion at its Global IV terminal in Joliet, Ill. UP informed customers Wednesday it will temporarily halt shipments of international containers from all West Coast ports to its Global IV terminal for up to a week, […]

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Sound Transit to receive $252 million in federal grants for light rail projects

Sound Transit logo

WASHINGTON — Sound Transit will receive more than $250 million in federal grants for a pair of projects extending light rail lines, Washington state’s two U.S. senators announced Friday. The awards come as the agency prepares to announce plans to delay some planned construction projects as a result of a $12 billion funding shortfall — […]

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Oregon excursion operator to add steam locomotive

Logo for Santiam Excursion Trains

LEBANON, Ore. — Santiam Excursion Trains, which operates on the Albany & Eastern Railroad in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, has announced it will begin operating with a steam locomotive this fall. Coming to the tourist operation will be Santa Maria Valley No. 205, a 2-6-2 built by Baldwin in 1924. Retired and placed on display in […]

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UP service disrupted by fire, weather

Union Pacific logo with Building America slogan

OMAHA, Neb. — Fires and extreme weather are disrupting Union Pacific operations in the West and Midwest, the railroad has informed customers. In Northern California, the Lava fire, in Siskiyou Canyon and the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, is disrupting operations between Redding, Calif., and Eugene, Ore. The railroad is assessing damage to infrastructure including the Dry […]

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Company seeking to build Alaska-Alberta rail line enters bankruptcy

Map showing proposed rail line linking Northern Alberta to Alaska

The company that has proposed building a rail line connecting Alaska to the rest of the North American rail network has filed for bankruptcy protection and may be sold to pay debts. Bloomberg reports Alaska-Alberta Railway Development Corp. — which promoted itself under the A2A label — received protection from a Canadian court after the […]

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Preservation roundup: New Jersey museum debuts restored Lackawanna club car

Pullman green passenger car with woman in front vestisbule

Whippany Railway Museum celebrates restoration of 1912 Lackawanna club car New Jersey’s Whippany Railway Museum has unveiled Lackawanna Railroad Subscription Club Car, completing a seven-year project to restore the car built by Barney & Smith Car Co. of Dayton, Ohio, in 1912. Car No. 2454 was converted to electric propulsion in 1930 by American Car […]

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Rocky Mountaineer, White Pass & Yukon adjust summer operating plans

Passenger train rounds curve with Rocky Mountains in background

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Despite uncertainty when the Canada-U.S. border will open, Rocky Mountaineer has confirmed it is moving ahead with limited operations on two of its three routes out of Vancouver in July and returning to a full schedule in August. Meanwhile, although Alaskan tour train operator White Pass & Yukon Route will begin […]

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Four light rail projects receive federal grants

Tacoma_LightRail_Lassen

WASHINGTON — Four light rail projects are among the 22 which have received a total of $250 million in funding under the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grants program. Rail projects receiving grants are: — $20.7 million to Seattle’s Sound Transit for the 2.4-mile Hilltop extension of the Tacoma Link light rail project. — $17.4 […]

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Digest: State legislators balk at proposed realignment of New York MTA leadership

Head shot of female MTA official

Nomination of Feinberg as MTA chairwoman in jeopardy as legislators balk at plan New York legislators have indicated they will not vote on a proposal that would make Sarah Feinberg, the current interim president of New York City Transit, the new chairwoman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board. The New York Times reports the legislature […]

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Radio station report says union official blames BNSF oil-train derailment on sabotage

Train wreckage

SEATTLE, Wash. — A union official told a BNSF Railway hearing that sabotage was responsible for a fiery derailment of a crude-oil train last December in Custer, Wash., a Seattle public radio station is reporting. National Public Radio affiliate KUOW reports Korey McDaniel, part of the safety team with the International Association of Sheet Metal, […]

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Amtrak Cascades engineer, in first interview since fatal derailment, says he relives accident daily

Wrecked passenger train

TACOMA, Wash. — The engineer who was at the controls for the fatal Amtrak Cascades derailment in 2017 says he’s still trying to get his operating license back, although admitting that’s unlikely, and says he relives the accident “all day” during his waking hours. Steven Brown, the 59-year-old engineer who was fired by Amtrak as […]

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Digest: Del Mar trespassing fence faces further delay

People jumping off rail linee as train approaches

New study to further delay safety fence along Del Mar, Calif., rail line The North County Transit District will further delay its effort to build a fence to deter trespassers from crossing railroad tracks in Del Mar, Calif., to complete an additional study on the issue. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the fence — which […]

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