MOOREFIELD, W.Va. — OmniTRAX will take over management of West Virginia’s South Branch Valley Railroad this Friday, Dec. 1, the company has announced. The transportation affiliate of The Broe Group said Wednesday that it had entered into “a definitive agreement with the West Virginia Deparment of Transportation to operate and grow” the 52.4-mile railroad, a […]
WASHINGTON — Austin, Texas, Mayor Kirk Watson expressed strong support for expanded rail service in the San Antonio-Dallas-Houston “Texas Triangle” at a hearing of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s rail subcommittee in Washington today (Wednesday, Nov. 29). The session, however, primarily provided a platform for critics of the California High-Speed Rail Authority to […]
All of the Class I railroad CEOs say that providing more reliable and consistent service is the key to volume growth. So did they applaud when federal regulators proposed minimum service standards that railroads would have to meet in order to avoid potential reciprocal switching orders? Not exactly. In a nutshell, the Association of American […]
MIAMI — South Florida commuter rail service Tri-Rail still expects to begin long-delayed service to Brightline’s downtown MiamiCentral downtown station by the end of the year, Miami Today reports. A spokesman for the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, Tri-Rail’s parent agency, told Miami Today that a draft schedule has been submitted to partners including Brightline […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern is installing Wabtec’s Yard Planner system at Norris Yard in Irondale, Ala., as part of an effort to improve the hump yard’s efficiency and make service more consistent. “Norfolk Southern is the first Class I railroad to implement Yard Planner and we are already seeing greater consistency of car movement,” Joe […]
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey legislators on Monday held a hearing on a bill that would require two-person crews, limit train lengths, and mandate wayside defect detectors for “high-hazard trains,” those transporting flammable or hazardous materials. The hearing on S4049, introduced in June and sponsored by state Sens. Patrick Diegnan Jr. (D-Middlesex) and Gordon Johnson […]
WASHINGTON — Federal regulation of railroads preempts state laws regarding regulation of grade crossings, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar has told the U.S. Supreme Court in a filing on behalf of the federal government. The filing, reported by WXIX-TV, came as the court considers whether to hear Ohio’s appeal of case regarding the ability of […]
CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority’s Yellow Line remains shut down today (Monday, Nov. 27) as the Thanksgiving holiday period ends, some 11 days after the Nov. 16 collision between a Yellow Line train and a snowplow that injured 38 people. WLS-TV reports that the CTA has not offered any estimate when the line will […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX says a failed wheel bearing caused the Nov. 22 derailment that led to an evacuation of residents in Livington, Ky., on Thanksgiving. In a Sunday statement, the railroad said it has completed the removal of all 16 railcars involved in the incident that occurred about 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, and has […]
CHICAGO — Airports and highways generally get the most media attention at Thanksgiving because they accommodate the majority of the people on the move during the nation’s busiest travel period. Passenger rail did get rare coverage last week on “CBS Mornings” with coverage of Brightline including a live shot and an interview with Amtrak President […]
LONDON — Since the Channel Tunnel connecting Britain and France opened in 1994, a high speed passenger service operated by Eurostar has connected London, Paris and Brussels (extended to Amsterdam in 2018). Although competition on the route has been theoretically possible for decades, none has started — but this may be about to change as no […]
WOODSTOWN, N.J. — SMS Rail Lines Alco 0-6-0 locomotive No. 9 has been certified for operation by the Federal Railroad Administration after a 14-year restoration at the SMS shops in Bridgeport, N.J. The locomotive was built for the U.S. Army in 1942, working first at Fort Dix, N.J., and at Fort Eustis, Va., as No. […]
