Work on F line tunnel completed, ending Superstorm Sandy repairs
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has completed reapirs on the F line subway tunnel under the East River, concluding work on all 11 MTA under-river tunnels that were damaged by the floodwaters of Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Janno Lieber, president of MTA Construction & Development, said the work was completed on time and within budget. “We completed this tunnel work in record time using strategies similar to those we pioneered on the L train tunnel project: use state-of-the art technology and work smarter and faster so that the project costs less and impacts customers for a shorter time,” Lieber said in a press release. The project was part of $2 billion in work accelerated to make use of the opportunity created by lower ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic.
UP train derails in Gibbon, Neb.
Twenty-six cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Wednesday afternoon in Gibbon, Neb., KSNB-TV reports. The accident occurred about 3:45 p.m.; most of the cars involved were double-stack container cars, based on video footage, but KHGI-TV reports one tank car was also involved; authorities determined it did not contain hazardous material. Two roads remained closed as of Wednesday evening; a UP representative said the railroad was working with a contractor to clear the site but there was no estimate when that work would be complete.
Arrest warrants issued for men who placed baby stroller on tracks in Massachusetts
Arrest warrants have been issued for two Massachusetts men who allegedly set an empty baby stroller on the railroad tracks just before it was hit by a CSX train. The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports Joseph D. Barylski and Andrew M. Thebeau, both 29 of Spencer, Mass., are also wanted for tampering with a switch. The two were allegedly captured on video after CSX police, seeing an upswing of vandalism in the area, set up a camera that captured the stroller incident. Barylski is being charged with obstructing and/or endangering on the railway, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in state prison, as well as trespassing on railroad tracks. Thebeau is charged with two counts of obstructing and/or endangering on the railway, malicious injury to the railroad, and three counts of trespassing on the railroad tracks.
A definite possibility! I live in Grand Island NE, on UP’s “overland route” near where Wednesday’s derailment happened, and that route’s long trains–some about 3 miles long (with distributed power)–are increasingly common through here; one can’t help but wonder when seeing one if a train of that length isn’t just “asking for trouble.”
There seems to be more derailments lately could it be due to the super long trains that have become common?