LOS ANGELES — Seventeen cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Saturday in LA’s Lincoln Heights neighborhood, an area in which trains have been struck by widespread cargo thefts. KABC-TV reports it was told by Union Pacific that no injuries were reported and the cause of the derailment was under investigation. No information was immediately […]
WESTERLY, R.I. — An Amtrak conductor died Saturday after apparently falling from a train while preparing for a station stop. WJAR-TV reports the 26-year-old woman was found dead along the tracks near the Westerly station after Northeast Regional train No. 163, bound from Boston to Washington, stopped because other crew members realized the conductor was […]
ATLANTA — Jeffrey Parker, CEO of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, died Friday night. He was 56. Parker died by suicide, the agency said, when he was struck by a train at MARTA’s East Lake Station. “The MARTA Board of Directors grieves the shocking death of our GM/CEO Jeff Parker who has died by […]
MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada will reduce service in its Quebec City-Windsor, Ontario, corridor beginning Jan. 19 because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the passenger carrier announced. “These decisions, while difficult, are consistent with the balanced approach we have maintained throughout the pandemic in order to fulfill our important public service mandate while […]
PETALUMA, Calif. — The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit board has voted to for an in-house freight rail operation, while also planning to end tank-car storage that brings in some $500,000 annually. The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reports the board elected to operate the freight service it gained by buying out contract operator Northwestern Pacific [see “Bay […]
RICHMOND, Va. — The Commonwealth of Virginia and Norfolk Southern have finalized an agreement to extend service to the New River Valley, outgoing Gov. Ralph Northam announced last week. The Roanoke Times reports the agreement will allow for a train between Roanoke and the New River Valley while preserving current freight service. As part of […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak will reduce Northeast Corridor, long-distance, and state-supported train frequencies between Jan. 24 and March 27, the passenger railroad announced Friday evening, citing “staffing challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the highly active Omicron variant.” Overall, plans will amount to an 8% reduction in train departures over the 63-day period. That will […]
WASHINGTON — Is BNSF de Mexico a possibility? BNSF Railway, in a Thursday regulatory filing related to the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, said it may seek trackage rights on Kansas City Southern to reach the Mexican border at Laredo, Texas. The bombshell was tucked away in a footnote: BNSF will seek a concession […]
Historic diesel locomotives saved by the 2020s may be an odd lot of famous and barely memorable, but these units deserve our respect and attention just as much as the first batch. All of these, even the ones that proved to be technological dead ends, contributed in one way or another to the advancement and […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak on Friday asked federal regulators to impose seven conditions on CSX Transportation’s proposed acquisition of Pan Am Railways, arguing that they are needed to protect current and future passenger service in New England. Dennis Newman, Amtrak’s executive vice president of strategy and planning, made the request during the second day of a […]
WASHINGTON — CSX Transportation executives touted their proposed acquisition of Pan Am Railways during a daylong Surface Transportation Board hearing Thursday, saying their deal to acquire the New England regional will significantly improve freight and passenger service. But board members questioned several aspects of the merger, including concerns surrounding the Pan Am Southern and CSX’s projections […]
OXNARD, Calif. — Two Sierra Northern genset locomotives near Oxnard, Calif., on Wednesday, Jan. 12, en route to their new home on the former Southern Pacific branch line that is now the Sierra Northern Ventura Division. The former Union Pacific locomotives were delivered dead-in-train by a Union Pacific local and were expected to be turned […]
