CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In the latest issue for Charlotte’s increasingly troubled light rail system, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has said the Charlotte Area Transit System must fully staff its control center or suspend service. The Charlotte Observer reports that an unannounced inspection found that CATS was sometimes operating its Rail Operating Control Center, […]
While commuters between Miami and West Palm Beach have enjoyed Brightline passenger rail service since 2018, in 2023, the system will be expanding north to Orlando. As part of that expansion project, the company is opening a new “Basecamp” near the Orlando Airport. Enjoy this quick look inside the $100 million maintenance facility and a […]
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine today (Friday, March 31) signed Ohio’s $13.5 billion transportation bill, which includes new rail safety requirements as well as a provision crucial to the city of Cincinnati’s plan to sell the Cincinnati Southern Railway to the Norfolk Southern Railway. House Bill 23 requires two-person crews on freight trains within […]
On a day when snow is flying back home in Milwaukee, I’m 900 miles away, luxuriating in 70-degree temperatures and enjoying the refreshing shade of the huge live oak that hugs the generous eaves encircling one of the South’s most distinctive train stations. The building is a replica, but don’t hold that against it. […]
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Legislation setting the stage for the Cincinnati Southern Railway passed the Ohio House and Senate on Wednesday, sending the bill to Gov. Mike DeWine. HB23, the state transportation bill, passed the state House by a 93-2 vote and the Senate by a 30-1 vote. A conference committee on Tuesday reconciled differences between […]
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas is the latest state to consider a law limiting how long trains can block grade crossings. House Bill 1752, introduced on Tuesday by Rep. Denise Jones Ennett (D-Little Rock) would prohibit trains from blocking a crossing for more than 15 minutes. It sets penalties from $400 to $1,000, escalating to […]
PORT ALLEN, La. — No chemicals were released after about 25 tank cars carrying liquid petroleum gas and butadiene derailed Wednesday morning, WAFB-TV reports. The Union Pacific derailment, on a spur serving a plant for industrial gases firm Air Liquide America, led to a response by the Louisiana State Police hazardous materials unit, Louisiana Department […]
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The city of Cincinnati’s plan to sell the Cincinnati Southern Railway to Norfolk Southern — which had been in jeopardy — has been revived by the state legislature. WXIX-TV reports that, after the state House and Senate passed versions of a transportation bill with conflicting language regarding the sale, a conference committee […]
The famous Saluda grade in western North Carolina has seen its last train. Railbanked in December 2001, nature has slowly but ever so surely reclaimed the right of way. Now, in 2023, an agreement has been reached to sell the railroad to become a hiking trail. Let’s take a look back to the years when […]
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Metropolitan Transit Commission, the policy board for the Charlotte Area Transit System, has called for hiring an outside consultant to investigate a May 2022 light rail derailment and the transit agency’s failure to disclose significant issues revealed by that accident, as well as other problems. National Public Radio station WFAE reports […]
WASHINGTON — Two locomotives being transported dead-in-tow were coupled together, contrary to Norfolk Southern operating rules, in the consist of the NS train that derailed March 9 near Anniston, Ala., according to a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report released Monday. With Norfolk Southern under close scrutiny in the wake of February’s derailment in East […]
GLENDALE, Ky. — All 21 cars involved in the CSX Transportation derailment Thursday in Glendale were carrying automobiles, the railroad has confirmed. Cleanup continued today (March 17) from an incident that saw the occupant of one trackside vehicle suffer what have been described as “minor” injuries. One trackside building was damaged, along with some parked […]
