More Tuesday morning rail news:
— The city of Jackson, Miss., is suing Canadian National over a long-disputed underpass beneath the railroad’s right-of-way, demanding CN pays the full cost of reopening the once heavily-used route. The Jackson Clarion Ledger reports the city says the closure of Walter Dutch Welch Drive in west Jackson — shut down by the railroad four years ago — delays emergency medical responses and eliminates a route that allowed area residents to avoid crossings on major roads that are often blocked by trains. CN cited safety concerns when it filled in the underpass in 2016. The railroad declined comment to the newspaper on Monday.
— BNSF Railway has opened a new segment of quadruple-track main line in Winslow, Ariz. The addition of the fourth track “facilitates greater throughput at this crew change location by offering a pass-through route for trains traveling at higher rates of speeds,” the railroad said in a message to customers. It is the latest addition to a series of capacity improvement projects on the railroad’s Southern Transcon, joining projects in Amarillo, Texas; Belen, N.M., and Needles, Calif.
— Barges struck a Kansas City Southern bridge over the Mississippi River at Vicksburg, Miss., on Monday afternoon, closing the bridge to rail traffic. It was the third strike of the bridge this month. The Vicksburg Post reports the barges being pushed by the Captain Buck Lay hit three piers of the 90-year-old bridge, with some breaking away and also striking the adjacent Interstate 20 bridge.
