Miscellaneous

An Indian passenger train derailed Wednesday, killing as many as 20 people and injuring scores more, officials said. An Associated Press photograph showed a passenger coach dangling from a railway bridge. According to CNN, an engine and three passenger cars from the train – known as the Matsyagandha Express – fell off the 65-foot tall bridge after the locomotive jumped the tracks. A boulder that washed onto the tracks may be to blame for the derailment, various accounts indicate. The stretch of tracks – known as the Konkan route – is considered by many to be one of the most

WASHINGTON ― Railroads are experiencing a surge in traffic volumes for all commodities, including coal, and, for the first time, intermodal freight is the industry’s top revenue source, Association of American Railroads President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger said in a speech at the National Press Club. Carload freight is growing at a rapid pace and is up more than 3 percent this year, with grain traffic rising 10 percent and coal up 3 percent. Coal remains the bedrock of the industry, accounting for the largest source of tonnage by a wide margin. “Freight railroads have crossed a new threshold

NEW YORK – Hours after four railway bombs exploded in Madrid last March 11, Spanish investigators found a piece of evidence in a white van 20 miles from the blast that they did not reveal: on a plastic bag containing bomb materials, investigators found a “perfectly formed” fingerprint they couldn’t identify, a Spanish official tells Newsweek. Spanish police didn’t find a match for the print, but when the FBI ran it through its archive, the computer unexpectedly logged a hit: the mystery print, U.S. authorities say, belonged to Brandon Mayfield, a small-time lawyer who lived in Portland, Ore. Mayfield had

SYDNEY, Australia – Honeywell Building Solutions on May 13, 2004, announced it has received a $7.1 million order from the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia (PTA) for the design and construction of a centralized closed circuit television (CCTV) monitoring and digital recording system for Perth’s urban railway network. The new system is part of the Western Australian Government’s multi-million dollar TrainSafe Program to increase patron confidence in safety and security when traveling on Perth’s urban rail network. The order will see Honeywell connecting to 800 cameras across the network within the next 12 months, providing 24-hour, live vision to

ATLANTA – Railfanning.org has launched www.thecrosstie.com, a website for the e-zine The Cross-Tie. The Cross-Tie began its online publication in January 2003 and 10 issues were released in its first year. Five issues have been released to date in 2004. “This is a big step for The Cross-Tie,” Publisher Todd DeFeo said. “This web site will give people the opportunity to easily access the e-zine’s official web page.” Railfanning.org posts regular news updates on its News Wire web page. The monthly e-zine is available on Railfanning.org and through Train Kept A-Rollin’ – its Yahoo Group, which is open to the

WASHINGTON – Airline and railroad workers represented by the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM) participated in march and rally in Washington, D.C. on May 12 to bring attention to the union’s Fight for Transportation Jobs. Specifically, the IAM is protesting what it says are the government’s anti-worker policies and encouraging strong union member participation in this year’s presidential election. IAM members are also hand-billing passengers at major airports around the country. “The attack on transportation workers began within weeks of President Bush taking office,” IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger said. “Rail negotiations screeched to a halt. Elected

Concord, Calif. – It has been 20 years since the introduction of double-stack rail technology changed the intermodal container-transportation industry forever. In 1984, container trains began breaking through cost, capacity and service barriers by using specially engineered rail cars that could carry two tiers of containers instead of one – significantly reducing the locomotive power, track capacity and train crews required by conventional intermodal trains to move a comparable payload.   The double-stack rail car’s unique design also significantly reduced damage in transit, and provided greater cargo security by cradling the lower containers so their doors cannot be opened. And a

NEW CARROLLTON, Md. — A test program to measure the feasibility of explosives screening began May 4. The TSA launched the test program for people and bags traveling on U.S. trains. Amtrak and Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) passengers boarding at the New Carrollton train station were screened for explosives as part of a pilot project to make rail travel safer, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said. The Transit and Rail Inspection Pilot (TRIP) will evaluate the use of emerging technologies to screen passengers and their carry-on items for explosives in the transit and rail environment in certain situations.  The

WASHINGTON – As the nation is coming out of its job slump, freight railroads are expected to hire more than 80,000 new workers over the next six years, the American Association of Railroads predicts. "The railroad provides good career opportunities," said 37-year-old Donavan "Chris" White, an assistant general foreman for mechanical operations at CSX Transportation. "I’ve been with the railroad over five years. I came up through the ranks and then went to management, where I moved up quite fast. There’s the potential to rise through the ranks as far as you want to go." Thousands of employees have already