STUART, Fla. — The U.S. Coast Guard’s recent decision to mandate scheduled openings for a St. Lucie River drawbridge does not reflect protocols successfully implemented to the south in Fort Lauderdale when Brightline trains first began frequent operation in May 2018. The “temporary deviation” from current rules published in the Federal Register calls for openings […]
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board on Friday released the list of witnesses scheduled to appear at next week’s investigative hearing on the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment and hazardous material release in East Palestine, Ohio. That hearing is scheduled for June 22-23 at East Palestine High School and will deal with the decision […]
WASHINGTON — Slack action was the probable cause of the Feb. 9, 2022, death of a BNSF Railway remote control operator helper who fell from the front platform of his locomotive in Denver, the National Transportation Safety Board said today. “Surveillance video evidence reviewed by NTSB investigators shows slack action in the train consist at […]
WASHINGTON — Railroads have filed suit against the California Air Resources Board’s new diesel locomotive emissions standards, arguing that the state body lacks the authority to implement the In-Use Locomotive rule. The Association of American Railroads and the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, on behalf of their members, filed suit against the California […]
While the California Zephyr name continues today under the Amtrak banner, much has changed since the final run of the streamlined predecessor in 1970. What hasn’t changed since the original 1949 debut is the premise from vintage advertisements to “look up, look down, and look all around” when taking the Chicago-Emeryville, Calif. trip. Especially when […]
WASHINGTON — The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will hold a hearing next week on three nominees for Amtrak’s board of directors, as well as a member of the National Transportation Safety Board. The hearing will be Wednesday, June 21, at 10 a.m. ET, the committee chair, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), announced. It will […]
MIAMI — Commuter operator Tri-Rail has received clearance to begin running test trains into Brightline’s MiamiCentral station next week. WLRN public broadcasting reporter Danny Rivero has posted on Twitter a letter from Florida East Coast Railway that grants Tri-Rail’s parent, the South Florida Regional Transit Authority, authorization to run test trains into the Brightline station […]
WHITBY, Ontario — The Ontario government announced Thursday it has awarded a contract for planning to extend GO Transit’s Lakeshore East line to Bowmanville, Ont., an extension of nearly 20 kilometers (12 miles) eastward from the current terminus in Oshawa. Bowmanville Construction Partners has received the early-stage contract for advance infrastructure planning on what is […]
NEWARK, N.J. — The National Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen will pay $50,000 to NJ Transit to settle a claim over an illegal job action on last year’s Juneteenth holiday, the transit agency announced Thursday. Engineers did not report for their assignments on June 17, 2022, leading to the cancellation of nearly 300 trains. […]
WASHINGTON — A Chicago Transit Authority customer service assistant fell onto the electrified third rail when attempting to cross the right-of-way at the L’s La Salle/Van Buren station and died by electrocution, the National Transportation Safety Board says in its report on the July 16, 2022, accident. The final accident report was issued Thursday. The […]
Summer rail travel tips and challenges Amtrak has a problem and it’s too much travel demand for the equipment assigned on its long distance-routes. This translates to a difficult summer for U.S. travelers seeking to ride the rails. In addition, since the company utilizes inventory “yield management” — in which fares rise as seats or […]
HOUSTON — The race to develop autonomous freight railroad systems has another entrant: Autonomous Intermodal LLC on Wednesday announced that it’s working on a new intermodal system that would automate trains and terminals. The backbone of AIM’s system is an integral 4,000-foot double-stack train and 9,000-horsepower locomotive. Each 4,000-foot double-stack platform can be combined into […]
