Newest Norfolk Southern paint scheme salutes its railroaders

Front of red, white, and black locomotive with slogan "Thank you to our railroaders."

ALTOONA, Pa. — Norfolk Southern introduced a new specially painted locomotive saluting its railroaders at an NS Family Day event at the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona on Saturday, June 8. NS CEO Alan Shaw was on hand and spoke, and the railroad’s Southern and Virginian heritage units were also on display. The front of […]

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Deteriorating CN track adds time to VIA’s Ocean: Analysis

Passenger train at station with large ship in background

MONTREAL — Beginning June 19, VIA Rail Canada is adding 90 minutes to the westbound schedule of its Montreal-Halifax, N.S. Ocean and 45 minutes to the eastbound train, “to provide passengers with a schedule which better reflects actual travel times,” according to a statement provided by VIA in response to a set of detailed questions […]

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Amtrak’s Gardner, Coscia to appear at House subcommittee hearing

Trains Washington Watch logo

WASHINGTON — Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner and board chair Anthony Coscia are scheduled to appear before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in a hearing this Wednesday, June 12. The Railroad, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee will hold the hearing, “Amtrak and Intercity Passenger Rail Oversight: Promoting Performance, Safety and Accountability,” […]

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Catskill Mountain Railroad converts locomotives to biodiesel fuel

Alco road-switcher pulling passenger train across bridge

KINGSTON, N.Y. — The Catskill Mountain Railroad has converted its locomotives to run on 100% biodiesel fuel and says it is the first heritage railroad in the country to do so, the railroad has announced. The railroad operates with a pair of Alco locomotives. RS1 No. 401 was built in March 1950 for the Illinois […]

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Failure of rail joint likely caused 2020 Canadian Pacific oil train derailment and fire, TSB says

Black smoke rises from burning tank cars

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Failure of a plug rail joint, installed about a week earlier, likely led to the derailment and fire involving a Canadian Pacific crude oil unit train near Guernsey, Saskatchewan, in February 2020, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada determined in a final investigation report released Friday (June 7). The Feb. 6 incident […]

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Pinsly short lines join EPA’s SmartWay program

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two of Pinsly Railroad Co. short lines – Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad and the Grenada Railroad – have joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Transport Partnership. Developed by the EPA, SmartWay is a collaborative framework involving industry stakeholders and environmental groups to track and reduce emissions and fuel use in […]

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Canadian railways reject Teamsters’ union request for staggered contract talks

OTTAWA, Ontario — Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City have rejected a Teamsters Canada Rail Conference proposal to stagger negotiations with both railways by two weeks. The union — which represents engineers and conductors on both railways, as well as rail traffic controllers on CPKC — said that staggering contract talks would avoid simultaneous […]

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Metrolink board approves five-year contract extension for CEO Kettle

Man in front of commuter railcar

LOS ANGELES — Metrolink and CEO Darren Kettle have agreed to a five-year contract extension, the commuter rail operator announced on Thursday. The Metrolink board of directors unanimously agreed to the extension, which runs through September 2029, on May 24. Kettle, formerly executive director of the Ventura County Transportation Commission — one of the five […]

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Teamsters Canada turns down CN offer for binding arbitration

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MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway said today that it had formally offered binding arbitration to the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference in an effort to reach a new contract. The labor union turned down the offer, made earlier this week, CN said in an update on the dispute between the railroad and its operating crews. CPKC […]

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G&W’s Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern celebrates its 10th anniversary

RAPID CITY, S.D. — Genesee & Wyoming regional Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad commemorated its 10th anniversary with celebrations at the 743-mile railroad’s yards in Rapid City, Pierre, and Huron this week. “When our crews started up operations in June 2014, they were facing a tremendous backlog of grain from the 2013 harvest and […]

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Pennsylvania Rep. Deluzio named to House Transportation Committee

Portrait of man standing in front of American flag

WASHINGTON — First-term U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pittsburgh) has been named to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for the remainder of the current term, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has announced. Deluzio fills the vacancy created by the death of Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-N.J.), who had been the ranking member of the […]

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