WASHINGTON — The first day of automated operation on DC Metrorail’s Red Line went well, a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority representative told local news media. Sunday, Dec. 15, was the first day for use of Automatic Train Operation on any part of the system since it was disabled following a fatal 2009 collision [see […]
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — To honor fallen veterans during the holidays, a number of companies regularly partner with Wreaths Across America to deliver wreaths for placement on headstones. Among them are BNSF Railway and J.B. Hunt Transport Services. Wreaths Across America has a mission to “Remember, Honor, and Teach,” and every year since 2007 the […]
WASHINGTON — Automated train service returns today (Sunday, Dec. 15) on one DC Metrorail line, the first time in 15 years the Automatic Train Operation system will be used on any portion of the six-line, 129-mile system. Initially, the ATO system will be used only on the Red Line, the roughly U-shaped route between the […]
CHICAGO — The Pullman National Historical Park and State Historic Site has secured its first Pullman railcar for display at the site of the factory that produced rolling stock for decades. The Historic Pullman Foundation announced in November that it has completed a Letter of Intent to Donate with owner David Hoffman for a wooden […]
TORONTO – Teamsters Canada union leaders are urging federal officials in Ottawa to stay out of the collective bargaining process and back railway workers’ right to strike. “The transportation industry’s most powerful chief executives have developed a way to sidestep union negotiations,” Francois Laporte, national president of Teamsters Canada, and Paul Boucher, president of the […]
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold has led his team to a run at a playoff berth this season. On Monday, Dec. 9, Darnold and the team made another kind of run: they took a ride on the North Pole Express powered by Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 No. 261 at St. Paul Union […]
CALGARY, Alberta — It’s turning into a cold world for U.S.-Mexico cross-border trade — but that’s a good thing for Canadian Pacific Kansas City. CPKC announced an expansion of its strategic collaboration with temperature-controlled logistics Americold Realty Trust Inc. to formally explore co-development opportunities in Mexico for temperature-sensitive commodities moving between that country, the United […]
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — NJ Transit has begun work on a new facility to provide storage for locomotive and railcars that protects against flooding, a project reflecting the impact of 2012’s Hurricane Sandy. Groundbreaking was held today (Dec. 12) for the County Yard/Delco Lead Storage and Inspection Facility project, to be built along the Northeast […]
Saluda Grade There is a right way to build a railway up a mountain. The Swiss, for example, have covered their country with curvy, winding rack railways that start in the valleys and reach for the snow-capped peaks. There is a wrong way to build a railway up a mountain. The Porterfield & Ellis Railroad, […]
NEW YORK — About 3,500 people had to be evacuated from two disabled New York City Transit subway trains Wednesday evening after a power outage in Brooklyn — a process that took almost three hours. CBS News reports power was knocked out between the Jay Street-MetroTech and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street stations about 5:30 p.m., disrupting service […]
HOUSTON — The mayor of Houston says the city will build a pedestrian bridge over Union Pacific tracks where a high school student was killed earlier this week, and wants the railroad to pay for at least some of the project. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Mayor John Whitmore […]
Christmas dinner in the dining car Fun travel and good food, along with presents and tasty egg nog, are essential parts of the Christmas holiday season. As noted many times previously, in today’s “get there now” expedient travel environment, the journey is no longer part of the adventure. Thus, the fun of travel combined with […]
