COLUMBUS, Mont. — A bridge collapsed beneath a Montana Rail Link train Saturday morning, sending cars carrying asphalt and molten sulphur into the Yellowstone River and creating drinking-water issues downstream. The Billings Gazette reports the accident occurred about 6:45 a.m.; the Stillwater County Department of Emergency Services says three cars of hot asphalt and four […]
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The National Transportation Safety Board put a spotlight on Norfolk Southern’s car inspection practices and railroad industry wayside detector standards during its second day of field hearings on the disastrous Feb. 3 derailment of NS train 32N in this town on the Pennsylvania border. The derailment, which spilled hazardous materials initially […]
BISMARCK, N.D. — A state judge in North Dakota has dismissed a permit appeal by the preservation group seeking to block demolition of BNSF Railway’s 140-year-old bridge over the Missouri River. The Bismarck Tribune reports that South Central Judicial District Court Judge Jackson Lofgren on Friday dismissed on technical grounds the appeal by the Friends […]
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators today ordered BNSF Railway to haul more coal from Navajo Transitional Energy Co.’s Spring Creek mine in Montana to tidewater in British Columbia. The Surface Transportation Board’s 3-2 decision, which stemmed from a common-carrier complaint and emergency service order request from the coal producer, requires BNSF to transport 4.2 million tons […]
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — South Carolina’s legislature has set aside an additional $10 million for development of the Saluda Grade Rail Trail, the Spartanburg Post and Courier reports. Lawmakers had already earmarked $5 million for the project before Norfolk Southern agreed to sell the dormant 31-mile, two-state rail route, once the steepest main line in the […]
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — During a rare on-site public hearing on Thursday, the National Transportation Safety Board delved into the chain of events that led to the venting and burning of tank cars laden with vinyl chloride following the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train. The big question: Was the venting and […]
GATINEAU, Quebec — A notable increase in completed investigations is highlighted in the Transportation Safety Board of Canada’s annual report for fiscal 2022-23, delivered to Parliament this week. Announcement of the annual report comes a day after the TSB released its annual statistics on accidents and other incidents in all modes of transportation [see “Rail […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The union representing maintenance-of-way workers is suing Genesee & Wyoming and a subsidiary, saying the companies violated the Railway Labor Act with a hiring freeze and layoffs after workers voted to join the union. The suit by the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, or […]
SAN CARLOS, Calif. — Bay Area commuter operator Caltrain will delay fare increases planned for July 1 as part of its effort to encourage more riders to return to the system. A 50-cent increase in the base fare and an increase in the cost of monthly fares, from the cost of 24 trips to 30, […]
BUCKEYE, Ariz. — Union Pacific will provide rail service to the new Buckeye Industrial Rail Park, which recently saw its first tenant, Rehrig Pacific Co., break ground on its manufacturing plant. The 260-acre industrial park is located 40 miles west of Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport and near Interstate 10. Rehrig Pacific’s plant will manufacture reusuable […]
CPKC and CSX Transportation will form a joint venture to build and deploy hydrogen locomotive conversion kits for diesel-electric locomotives, the railroads said today. The first step: CSX will convert one of its diesel locomotives using a hydrogen conversion kit developed by CPKC. The conversion work will be done at CSX’s locomotive shop in Huntington, […]
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Concerns about firefighter training, communication between responding agencies, and the ability of first responders to receive information on hazardous materials were a focus of the morning session as National Transportation Safety Board began its hearing into the Feb. 3 derailment of Norfolk Southern train 32N, and the subsequent fire and chemical […]
