Editor’s note: The January 2026 issue of Trains Magazine includes author Greg Richardson’s article on the development of positive train control, “The road to PTC,” viewed primarily through the lens of his time in Union Pacific’s PTC program. Space limitations precluded inclusion of his look at development of PTC for Big Boy No. 4014; we […]
WASHINGTON — A Union Pacific locomotive’s horn and warning devices at a grade crossing provided little advance notice before a fatal collision at a grade crossing in Elgin, Ill., according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on the Oct. 23, 2025, incident. The accident occurred about 6:30 a.m., when a locomotive running light […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has reached agreement on a five-year contract with members of the Brotherhood of Railway Signalmen, the railroad announced today (Nov. 11, 2025). The agreement, covering nearly 970 members of the union, includes an 18.8% compounded wage increase over the life of the contract, along with accelerated vacation earning and improvements to […]
MOLINE, Ill. — The transit bill passed early Friday (Oct. 31) by Illinois legislators doesn’t just address the financial needs and governing structure of transit operations in the Chicago area. Tucked into the bill’s more than 1,000 pages are two provisions that legislators say should boost the long-running effort to launch rail passenger service between […]
WASHINGTON — An operator’s failure to obey a stop signal was the probable cause of an Oct. 1, 2024, derailment of a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority light rail train in Somerville, Mass., the National Transportation Safety Board said in its final investigation report released this month. The train’s excessive speed was a contributing factor, according […]
MISSOULA, Mont. — BNSF Railway expects to complete installation of positive train control on the former Montana Rail Link by December, concluding a long-running project that predates BNSF’s acquisition of the regional railroad. BNSF said on social media that PTC was implemented on 36 miles of its MRL Subdivision in June, with work in progress […]
LOS ANGELES — Metrolink has rolled out the use of smart crossing technology — which avoids unnecessary delays at grade crossings near stations — with its introduction at two crossings near its Baldwin Park station. The Wireless Crossing Nearside Station Stop technology communicates with positive train control to prevent crossing gates from lowering as a […]
LOS ANGELES — Commuter operator Metrolink has expanded its use of a “smart crossing” technology to prevent unnecessary crossing-gate activation when a train is stopping at a nearby station, adding it at one location in Riverside, Calif., and one in Moorpark. The Wireless Crossing Nearside Station Stop is now in use near the Hunter Park/UC […]
PITTSBURGH — Wabtec will further expand its digital rail inspection and detection business, announcing today (July 7, 2025) that it will acquire Austrian-based Frauscher Sensor Technology Group for €675 million ($792 million). The acquisition of Frauscher — an international supplier of rail detection, wayside object control, and axle-counting products — comes just days after Wabtec […]
ATLANTA — Rail equipment firm Stadler has opened a new office for its Signalling Division in Atlanta, the first major international expansion of that division. The location in part reflects Stadler’s $500 million contract for a signal project with the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority [see “Stadler lands contract …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 6, […]
WASHINGTON — DC Metrorail is now operating its entire system with Automatic Train Operation, having expanded use of the automated system to the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines as of today (June 15, 2025). The system, which was part of Metrorail from its launch in 1976, was shut off in 2009 following a fatal collision. […]
WASHINGTON — Expanded DC Metrorail operations using Automatic Train Operation have gone smoothly, but the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission says more testing is still needed to determine the cause of station overruns. WUSA-TV reports that commission members were told during a meeting on Tuesday (June 10) that there were 25 overruns in the first 10 […]
