WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has officially signed the $3 billion grant agreement for the Brightline West rail project, the company has announced. The grant, awarded to the Nevada Department of Transportation, was signed today (Sept. 26). The grant award was announced in December 2023 [see “Legislators say Brightline West will receive $3 billion […]
MOUNT VERNON, Ind. — The new OmniTRAX railroad serving Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon has been named the Mount Vernon Railroad, and students from three local schools have a chance to name the two GP38-2 locomotives that will serve the port railroad.= OmniTRAX was named as the operator for the port on the Ohio River in […]
ATLANTA — With longshoremen and port operators still unable to come to terms for a new labor agreement at East Coast ports, Norfolk Southern is recommending alternative origins for West Coast-destined international intermodal that normally flows into the eastern seaboard. NS outlined its recommended service Thursday, making use of its inland intermodal terminals to originate […]
BERLIN — InnoTrans provides the opportunity for the world’s railway operators to meet the leading train manufacturers in one place, and this works for the media, as well. Trains News Wire has spoken to the two leading European train builders who also are very active in North America at the show in the last two […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration, addressing a 120% increase in assaults against transit workers between 2013 and 2021, has issued a final version of its directive requiring transit agencies to assess and address the risk of such assaults on workers in transit vehicles and at facilities. The agency’s General Directive 24-1, issued Wednesday, covers […]
WASHINGTON — Intermodal volume continues to carry overall weekly U.S. rail traffic to an increase over 2023 levels, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. For the week ending Sept. 21, total U.S. traffic was 522,112 carloads and intermodal units, a 6% increase over the same week a year ago. That figure includes […]
MADISON, Wis. — The owner of the Wisconsin Great Northern, the heritage rail operation in Spooner, Wis., which gained significant attention for its efforts to restore the Mark Twain Zephyr, has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison for failure to pay employment taxes. Greg Vreeland, 55, of Springbrook, Wis., was sentenced […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and acting Department of Labor Secretary Julie Su sent a letter today (Wednesday, Sept. 25) urging the CEOs of three Class I freight railroads to guarantee paid sick leave for all employees. One of the railroads, CSX, responded that two unions have rejected its efforts to do exactly […]
WASHINGTON – A combination of excessive in-train forces and the pairing of dead-in-tow locomotives that lacked alignment control couplers was the probable cause of a 2023 Norfolk Southern derailment in Alabama, the National Transportation Safety Board said today. Two locomotives and 37 cars derailed in the March 9 wreck on the Alabama East End District […]
TAMPA, Fla. — After an unusual lull in hurricane activity in August and September, railroads are monitoring a new tropical disturbance that will make landfall around Tallahassee, Fla., on Thursday, Sept. 26, likely as a Category 2 or 3 hurricane. “CSX is closely monitoring Tropical Storm Helene, which is projected to intensify to hurricane strength […]
BERLIN — A number of European manufacturers have unveiled new locomotive designs, several shown in public for the first time, at the InnoTrans trade fair. Stadler presented the first of its new six-axle freight locomotives for the British market, the dual-mode Class 99, which will be used by the UK’s largest rail freight company, GB […]
WASHINGTON — With a dockworkers strike looming at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, Surface Transportation Board Chairman Robert E. Primus has asked BNSF Railway and Union Pacific to provide regulators with information on how they will handle the anticipated surge in container traffic at West Coast ports. “While I understand that a pivot to […]
