WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has released letters from Class I railroads outlining their “peak season” service plans.
In June, Chairman W. Douglas Buttrey sent letters to the chief executive officers of the seven largest railroads and to the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA), asking the railroads to inform the STB of […]

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will hold a series of public meetings across the country beginning in August to start a national discussion on the challenging issue of improving safety at the nation’s largely unregulated private highway-rail grade crossings, FRA Administrator Joseph H. Boardman announced.
"The lack of a common safety approach at private […]

GLENCOE, Minn. — The Twin Cities & Western normally is freight service only, but on July 21-22-23 the 229-mile regional railroad celebrated its 15th anniversary by running a series of diesel-powered passenger trains. Regularly scheduled passenger service ended on the line in 1969.
"It’s our way of thanking customers, employees, government leaders and railroad officials who […]

CHICAGO — The National Transportation Safety Board has completed the initial on-scene phase of its investigation into the July 11 Chicago Transit Authority train derailment in a tunnel with a fire on the Blue Line.
The 12-member team is continuing the investigation.
As part of the ongoing investigation into this accident, the arc damaged wayside and car […]

WASHINGTON — Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have received a $502,462 grant from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to create new three-dimensional software to model and simulate the forces involved in train derailments.
The grant will expand on work conducted for the Systematic Analysis of Multibody Systems/Rail project, underway since 1999.

WASHINGTON — A proposed high-speed passenger rail line between Atlanta, GA and Chattanooga, TN will be studied by the Georgia Department of Transportation with a $6,690,857 grant from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and $1,172,714 from non-Federal sources.
The funding will be used to prepare a Tier I Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to review the need […]

WILMERDING, Pa. — Wabtec Corporation on July 21 announced that its MotivePower subsidiary has been awarded an $8 million contract by New Jersey Transit Corporation to supply five "clean-diesel" switcher locomotives operating at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Tier 2 emissions levels.
The locomotives, which will be remanufactured at MotivePower’s Boise, Idaho facility, will meet new environmental […]

ISELIN, N.J. - Sergeant Kenneth Metz of Aberdeen, N.J., has been named the Amtrak Police Department’s Officer of the Year. Sergeant Metz received this prestigious, nationwide award in recognition of his many contributions to the corporation and the department. He has displayed exemplary performance of his duties.
Sergeant Metz began his career with the Amtrak Police […]

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Union Pacific on July 20 announced plans to invest over $90 million in Southwest Bexar County to develop a new state-of-the-art intermodal terminal.
The 300-acre rail port will serve as an economic development and job growth catalyst for the area. The new terminal will ship and receive containers and trailers with household […]

BOMBAY, India – The death toll in the July 11 serial bombings on Bombay’s commuter trains has risen to 200, with 714 people injured, according to the official estimate released by police.
One hundred twenty seven victims have been identified and a further 56 remain unidentified, the estimate said. No group has so […]