Rail Industry News
After announcing rebrand, Virgin Trains USA (formerly Brightline) files to go public
(Source: Miami Herald, November 17, 2018) MIAMI — On the same day it announced a major rebranding as Richard Branson’s Virgin Group became an investor, the private train company formerly known as Brightline quietly filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to...
BNSF Logistics adds massive flatcar for specialized service
(Source: Railway Age, November 16, 2018) NEW YORK — BNSF Logistics has introduced a new 20-axle railcar, the TEXX 900, which joins its specialized fleet to handle heavy-haul and over-dimensional loads. This shiftable, depressed deck flatcar will enable the third-party...
Norfolk Southern pays fine after diesel dumping
(Source: Television station WDEF, November 16, 2018) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Norfolk Southern Railroad will pay a $60,000 fine for damages caused by a deliberate spill of diesel fuel by a contractor last January. According to an investigation by the Tennessee Department...
Amtrak touts performance, financial records
(Source: Railway Age, November 16, 2018) NEW YORK — In the midst of controversy surrounding scale-backs in meal services; widely held beliefs that current management is targeting long-distance trains for elimination, or at the very least, truncation; and accusations...
FRA issues funding notice for state-of-good-repair projects
(Source: Progressive Railroading, November 16, 2018) The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) yesterday issued a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for $272 million in grants under the Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair Program. Full story:...
Canadian crude rallies as U.S. demand and rail shipments rise
(Source: Bloomberg, November 16, 2018) CALGARY — Canadian heavy crude prices rallied Friday as U.S. refinery demand rises and increased volumes are shipped by rail car. Heavy Western Canadian Select’s discount to West Texas Intermediate futures narrowed to $39.25/bbl,...
Crews continue cleanup after massive CSX derailment in Byromville, Ga.
(Source: Associated Press, November 17, 2018) BYROMVILLE, Ga. — Rail cars tumbled from an overpass onto a Georgia highway on Saturday, causing an evacuation and traffic headaches in a small town but resulting in no injuries. CSX Railroad said 30 cars derailed. That...
BHP blames driver error, brake problem for Australian runaway train wreck
(Source: Reuters, November 16, 2018) MELBOURNE — BHP said on Friday that driver error caused an iron-ore train to run away without its driver and a brake problem caused the company to intentionally derail the train in order to stop it, according to a preliminary...
BNSF turns to hybrid-electric vehicles to “green up” operations
(Source: DC Velocity, November 13, 2018) WASHINGTON, D.C. — BNSF Railway Co. says it has seen the future, and it is electric—or at least hybrid-electric. The Fort Worth, Texas-based railroad will soon "electrify" a number of its vehicles, including cranes, trucks,...
California high-speed rail authority narrowing down routes through Los Angeles
(Source: Curbed Los Angeles, November 15, 2018) LOS ANGELES — In spite of rising costs and looming obstacles, plans for high-speed rail line in Southern California are slowly chugging along. The board overseeing California’s high-speed rail project, which could...
Report: NJ Transit in home stretch of PTC installation
(Source: North Jersey Record, November 15, 2018) ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — A safety system NJ Transit is required to install by Dec. 31 is 88 percent complete, the agency's executive director reported to its board of directors Wednesday. Full story: www.northjersey.com
APTA: Commuter railroads acquire all radio spectrum for PTC
(Source: Progressive Railroading, November 15, 2018) U.S. commuter railroads have acquired all the radio spectrum needed to implement positive train control (PTC), the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced yesterday. APTA made the announcement in...
Amtrak to close Riverside call center, eliminating 550 jobs
(Source: Press-Enterprise, November 15, 2018) RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Amtrak said Wednesday it will close its Riverside reservation center in January, eliminating all 550 positions at the facility. Full story: Press-Enterprise
Amtrak cuts operating losses to lowest level in decades
(Source: Associated Press, November 15, 2018) WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amtrak says its $168 million operating loss this year was the smallest since 1973, its second full year in business. The government-owned railroad said Thursday it took in a record $3.4 billion in...
Oil industry pushing North Dakota regulators to loosen oil conditioning rules for rail transport
(Source: Associated Press, November 15, 2018) BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota oil industry leaders are pushing to loosen the state's oil conditioning regulations, but an environmental group is arguing to tighten rules. Full story: The State
AAR reports rail traffic for week ending November 10, 2018
(Source: Association of American Railroads press release, November 14, 2018) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending November 10, 2018. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was...
Brightline passenger rail in Florida: Trains whisper, doors swish, bubbly flows
(Source: Orlando Sentinel, November 15, 2018) ORLANDO, Fla. — There was a hint of disappointment recently on a Brightline train, the privately owned passenger service that started this year between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, with plans to eventually...
Metra says it will meet PTC deadline, but other improvements will be delayed to pay for it
(Source: NBC Chicago, November 14, 2018) CHICAGO — Chicago’s Metra commuter rail agency says it is on track to meet a crucial December federal deadline for implementation of the safety system known as positive train control (PTC). But it’s an expensive proposition,...
Conductors sue BNSF, allege responsibility for illness
(Source: Coeur d’Alene Press, November 14, 2018) COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho — Two train conductors stationed at Hauser when they were employed by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad are suing the train company in Coeur d’Alene First District Court for illnesses they...
CN Rail lays off some non-unionized workers in spite of record revenues
(Source: Canadian Press, November 14, 2018) MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway Co. is laying off some non-unionized workers, less than three weeks after the company reported the highest quarterly revenues in its 99-year history. Full story: Times Colonist
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