Union Pacific locomotives wind up in river after hitting rockslide in Colorado

WHITEWATER, Colo. — A Union Pacific train crew escaped without injuries this week after their train hit a rockslide and derailed, with both locomotives winding up on their sides in the Gunnison River. “Around 11 p.m. MT Tuesday evening, a Union Pacific train encountered a rockslide south of Whitewater, Colorado. The Union Pacific crew onboard […]

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Capacity crunch a main topic at Amtrak’s public board meeting: Analysis

NEW ORLEANS — A full complement of Amtrak board members convened in the Crescent City on Thursday for the only yearly meeting where the railroad’s management and board take questions from the public. As has been the case since the first mandatory annual public meeting held in St. Louis in 2022, many concerns affecting company […]

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Mardi Gras service is off to a fast start, Amtrak says

Short passenger train on bridge

NEW ORLEANS – Ridership on Amtrak’s Mardi Gras service — launched in August to link New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. — has exceeded expectations in its first three-plus months of operation along the Gulf Coast. Amtrak on Thursday said that more than 46,000 passengers have ridden the twice-daily roundtrips since the long-awaited service launched using […]

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Primus alleges race played role in his dismissal from the STB

Man in gray suit speaking at podium

WASHINGTON — Former Surface Transportation Board member Robert E. Primus and former National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chair Alvin Brown on Thursday added racial discrimination claims to their federal lawsuits challenging their dismissals by the Trump administration. President Donald Trump fired Brown in May and Primus in August without giving a reason for their dismissals. […]

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Amtrak, VRE adjust schedules for Long Bridge work

Passenger train at station with large number of people boarding

WASHINGTON — Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express have adjusted their schedules to make way for morning work blocks that will be in effect for the next five years between Washington and Alexandria, Va., to permit construction of a second two-track Long Bridge across the Potomac River. After months of negotiations, stakeholders have reached an agreement […]

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Seminole Gulf Railway launches $18.2 million track improvement project (corrected)

Two locomotives lead gondolas across bridge

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Seminole Gulf Railway is in the midst of renewing 11.5 miles of its railroad between Fort Ogden and Cleveland, Fla. The $18.2 million project will allow for increased train weight and higher track speeds, the railroad says. Funding for the 18-month project includes a $9.6 million federal Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and […]

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NTSB probing death of Union Pacific conductor in grade-crossing incident

National Transportation Safety Board logo

WASHINGTON — A Union Pacific conductor was fatally injured on Wednesday in a grade-crossing accident near Ontario, Calif., the National Transportation Safety Board said today. “NTSB is sending a team to investigate Wednesday’s accident involving a Union Pacific Railroad conductor fatally injured while conducting a reverse movement when the train collided with a combination vehicle […]

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CN tells STB that Union Pacific is blocking access to a customer in Illinois

Black locomotive passes wind turbines

WASHINGTON — Canadian National has asked federal regulators to confirm that the railroad has operating authority on trackage in Springfield, Ill., where its efforts to serve an agricultural shipper have been stymied by Union Pacific. CN subsidiary Illinois Central maintained trackage rights in the Springfield area when in 1986 it sold its 631-mile line linking […]

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City ends TOYX turntable lease

Small diesel locomotive and boxcar on a turntable. City ends TOYX turntable lease.

PORT JERVIS, N.Y. — Port Jervis is terminating a rail historical society’s lease of the former Erie Railroad turntable site near downtown, a decision that will force the nonprofit group to find a new home for its 27-piece locomotive and rolling stock collection. The 8.67-acre city-owned site was once part of the Erie Railroad’s engine […]

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U.S. carloads up, but intermodal down, weekly traffic data show

WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic declined 1.8% for the week ending Nov. 29, the Association of American Railroads reported on Wednesday. Total carloads for the week ending Nov. 29 were 197,955 carloads, up 4.3% compared with the same week in 2024, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 233,480 containers and trailers, down 6.5% compared to […]

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Metra asks STB to settle trackage rights dispute with Union Pacific

Commuter train led by cab car passes intermodal train

WASHINGTON — Metra on Tuesday asked the Surface Transportation Board to set conditions and compensation for the Chicago-area commuter railroad’s continued use of Union Pacific tracks and facilities. In a regulatory filing, Metra told federal regulators that it has been unable to reach a trackage rights agreement with UP that would cover its use of […]

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