Evacuation continues after UP derailment in Iowa Iowa State Troopers said they planned to allow the fire to burn overnight after a Union Pacific train derailed and caught fire in Sibley, Iowa, on Sunday afternoon. KELO-TV reports an evacuation remains in effect in a 2½-mile radius of the derailment site, with those evacuated sheltering in […]
Sound Transit places first of new Siemens LRVs in service Sound Transit has placed the first of its new Siemens light rail vehicles in service, part of an order that will more than triple the agency’s fleet. A total of 152 vehicles, from two orders totaling will be delivered from Siemens’ plant in Sacramento through […]
Route of the Rockets The 1,600-hp Alco RS3 was an all-time best-selling road switcher with more than 1,200 built from 1949 to 1956. Rock Island No. 492, built in 1951, operated in Chicago area commuter service. Rock Island photo […]
SIBLEY, Iowa — For the second time in about 24 hours, a Union Pacific train derailment in the Midwest has created a hazmat situation. This time, the derailment has triggered a fire that is leading to an evacuation of part of Sibley, a town of about 2,800 just south of the Iowa-Minnesota border and about […]
ALBERT LEA, Minn. — Some 28 cars of Union Pacific train MITDM derailed in Albert Lea at approximately 1:45 p.m. today. The southbound train was en route from Itasca Yard in Superior, Wis., to Des Moines, Iowa. The derailment occurred along Goose Lake in Albert Lea, just north of the small UP yard in town, with […]
House committee asks General Accountability Office to investigate Precision Scheduled Railroading The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has asked the head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office to investigate the impact of Precision Scheduled Railroading on shippers, Amtrak and commuter railroads, employees and others. In a letter earlier this week from committee chairman Peter […]
ST. PAUL, Minn.— If there is any “no brainer” on Amtrak’s recently unveiled “Connects US” map of potential routes, it is adding an extra train to the Chicago-Twin Cities portion of the Empire Builder’s route. Amtrak has plenty of built-in corridors like this one, routes between major population centers it already serves that could […]
If Canadian Pacific does not top Canadian National’s $33.6 billion offer for Kansas City Southern in the next five days, a CN-KCS merger would proceed toward the approval process. First, KCS shareholders must approve the deal announced yesterday, which would give them $200 per share in cash, along with 1.129 shares of CN common stock, […]
NJ Transit settles suits from fatal 2016 crash at Hoboken Terminal NJ Transit has settled several lawsuits stemming from the fatal 2016 accident when a train ran through an end-of-track barricade at its Hoboken Terminal. NJ.com reports the agency settled the suit of the estate of the young woman who was killed by falling debris, […]
$10,000 reward offered in investigation of Amtrak shop fire Amtrak and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and successful prosecution of the person or persons responsible for the May 2 fire at Amtrak’s Beech Grove (Ind.) Heavy Maintenance Facility, WXIN-TV […]
El Paso, Colo., county board voices opposition to passenger rail district Officials in Colorado’s El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs, have indicated their opposition to a proposed Front Range Rail Passenger District, expressing concern that taxes raised by the district could be better used to fix local roads or could be spent elsewhere in […]
Customs and Border Protection to introduce new rail cargo scanners at 12 key border crossings The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has announced a $46 million program to install new technology to inspect rail cargo at a dozen sites around the U.S. The new high energy scanners will us linear accelerators to generate X-rays […]
