Rail Industry News
MBTA wants $1 billion for upgrades
(Source: Boston.com, June 10, 2015) BOSTON — On Tuesday MBTA’s leaders proposed a one-year budget for coming upgrades, estimating the fix will cost over $1 billion, The Boston Globe reports. Full story: Boston.com
Railroad companies, regulators call for stricter tank standards, more inspectors
(Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 9, 2015) HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania can do more to hire track inspectors and to push for stricter tank safety standards to address the growing number of trains carrying crude oil from Midwestern shale fields through...
Minnesota Gov. Dayton calls for more safety funding after semi, oil train collision
(Source: Forum News Service, June 9, 2015) ST. PAUL PARK, Minn. — Gov. Mark Dayton visited the site of an oil train-truck wreck Tuesday to press his case for more Minnesota rail safety funding. Full story: www.inforum.com
Opinion: Imagine more high-speed rail throughout Northeast
(Source: Philadelphia Inquirer opinion column by U.S. Rep. Brendan F. Boyle, June 9, 2015) PHILADELPHIA — A high-speed rail system to rival those of Europe and Asia may be the most ambitious of the plans under consideration, but it's the strategy that could help the...
Fund for victims of Lac-Megantic tragedy grows to $345 million
(Source: Associated Press, June 9, 2015) PORTLAND, Maine — The compensation fund for victims of a fiery oil train derailment that claimed 47 lives in a small town in Quebec has grown to $345 million with a contribution from the company that owned the shipment. Full...
Latest measure by House Republicans would cut Amtrak funding by $242 million
(Source: Associated Press, June 9, 2015) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The GOP-controlled House passed legislation Tuesday to cut Amtrak's budget by $242 million, though lawmakers added new funding for video cameras inside locomotive cabs to record engineers and help...
FRA seeks changes to curb speed of passenger trains
(Source: Reuters, June 9, 2015) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Federal Railroad Administration on Tuesday said railroads should identify locations where trains must reduce speed by more than 20 miles per hour in their approach to a bridge or curve and should modify...
NTSB confirms locomotive engineer was not using cell phone at the time of May 12 Amtrak crash in Philadelphia
(Source: National Transportation Safety Board press release, June 10, 2015) WASHINGTON, D.C. — As part of its ongoing investigation into the May 12, 2015, derailment of Amtrak Train 188 in Philadelphia, the NTSB today provides this update on the analysis of the...
Canada’s railroads confront market gravity
(Source: Bloomberg, June 9, 2015) NEW YORK — Investors are rediscovering a stock-market lesson in Canada: Shares of the country’s two biggest railroads don’t always go up. Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. are falling this year, raising...
KCS inks construction, lease pact with Sasol Chemicals for rail yard
(Source: Progressive Railroading, June 8, 2015) Kansas City Southern subsidiary Kansas City Southern Railway Co. (KCSR) has reached an agreement with Sasol Chemicals LLC for the construction and long-term lease of a storage-in-transit rail yard to support Sasol's new...
First phase of California bullet train is cut due to legal disputes
(Source: Los Angeles Times, June 8, 2015) LOS ANGELES — State bullet train officials have cut eight miles of track from an initial 130-mile section of construction in the Central Valley as a result of legal disputes with local cities. Instead of ending in the...
DOT-117 defined
(Source: Railway Age, June 5, 2015) NEW YORK — The wait for a new tank car specification is over. Now comes the “fun” part: Retrofits to older cars, and potentially onerous operating rules. Full story: Railway Age
Virginia bets on higher-speed rail by 2025
(Source: Washington Post, June 4, 2015) WASHINGTON, D.C. — If traffic is smooth on Interstate 95, driving is the quickest way to get from Richmond to Washington — even faster than taking the train, which can take up to 2 hours and 45 minutes. Virginia transportation...
Canada’s Transport Minister proposes changes to ‘dangerous goods’ transportation regulations
(Source: Progressive Railroading, June 8, 2015) Canada's Minister of Transport Lisa Raitt late last week proposed amending regulations governing the transportation of dangerous goods. The proposal would broaden the scope of the original reporting requirements and...
Pipelines winning as crude slump hits oil by rail
(Source: Globe and Mail, June 9, 2015) TORONTO — The flow of North American crude oil by rail will stall this year at about 700,000 carloads – instead of rising by 40 per cent – amid low prices and new pipeline capacity, says Taylor Robinson, president of...
Teamsters: Jobs may be up, but workers are still struggling
(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, June 8, 2015) WASHINGTON, D.C. — There have been a lot of words written in the last few years about income inequality. That is a good thing -- it is a problem that is gripping many American families as...
FRA recommends actions to prevent passenger trains from speeding
(Source: Federal Railroad Administration press release, June 9, 2015) WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today issued a safety advisory recommending actions that passenger railroads take to prevent trains from speeding. The advisory is the...
Stanford researchers seeking descendants of Chinese railroad workers
(Source: The Examiner, June 7, 2015) SAN FRANCISCO — When scholars at Stanford University began the arduous project three years ago of unearthing the history of Chinese workers who helped build the transcontinental railroad during the 1860s, they weren’t sure they...
With rail merger, China is forging an industrial giant second only to GE
(Source: Bloomberg, June 8, 2015) NEW YORK — China is forging the country’s answer to General Electric, combining two state-owned railroad equipment makers to create the world’s second-largest industrial company. And the giant isn’t planning to stay at home. Full...
Court reopens U.S. claims for Lac-Megantic rail disaster victims
(Source: Bangor Daily News, June 8, 2015) PORTLAND, Maine — Some victims of the train disaster that killed 48 people in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, on July, 6, 2013, will again be able to file claims against as many as 25 defendants before the statute of limitations for...
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