OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific today announced it has set a new seven-day record of trains moving out of Wyoming’s Southern Powder River Basin. The new record of 284 trains surpasses the previous seven-day record of 280. The company achieved the previous 280 record twice during seven-day period this past October and November. The new record was established between Nov. 22 and Nov. 28. — Business Wire
CHICAGO — An Amtrak train collided with a Norfolk Southern freight train this afternoon, seriously injuring five people, officials said. The Pere Marquette was traveling from Grand Rapids, Mich., to Chicago when it struck the freight train in south Chicago at about 11:30 a.m. local time. The Amtrak train’s locomotive derailed, while the rest of the train remained upright and on the rails. The Amtrak train had one engine and three cars. At the time of the derailment, there were 187 passengers and six crew members on board the train. Thirty injuries were reported, including five serious injuries to Amtrak
ERIE, Pa. — UK-based Freightliner Group Ltd. has placed the largest order in its history, according to GE – Transportation, which received an order for 30 freight locomotives. GE – Transportation, a unit of General Electric Co., is developing a new freight locomotive in partnership with Freightliner Group as part of a collaborative effort called “Project Genesis.” Starting in mid 2009, Freightliner will use the most advanced locomotive product in the industry while GE – Transportation will enter the UK rail freight market for the first time, officials said. GE – Transportation’s JS37ACi offers many new features, including AC traction
Tennessee Southern Railroad has completed its first year of operation under Patriot Rail ownership, and the new owners say the year was a success. TSRR, acquired by Patriot Rail in November 2006, operates over 149 miles of rail line from Columbia, Tenn., to Pulaski, Tenn., and from Columbia, Tenn., to Florence, Ala. The railroad serves 32 customers and interchanges with CSX Transportation at Natco, Tenn. TSRR also provides multi-modal services between the railroad, river barges and trucks at the Port of Florence, located on the Tennessee River. According to officials, TSRR has achieved many milestones during the past year, including:
WASHINGTON — President Bush today established a Presidential Emergency Board, hoping to keep the employees of nine Amtrak unions from striking. The unions represent more than 6,000 of Amtrak’s non-operating employees who have been working on contracts that expired in 1999. On Nov. 1, the National Mediation Board released Amtrak and the unions from mediation, starting a 30 day cooling off period. If Bush did not appoint the Presidential Emergency Board, the unions’ employees could strike starting Dec. 1. “In the judgment of the National Mediation Board, these disputes threaten substantially to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree that would deprive
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Canadian Pacific and the Mayo Clinic, on behalf of Rochester residents, have conducted their first face-to-face meeting, and officials said they made a commitment to continue their dialogue following the railroad’s recent acquisition of the Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern Railroad (DM&E). “We had a very open and constructive dialogue and we left with a mutual understanding of each others needs and concerns,” said Glenn Forbes, CEO of the Mayo Clinic. “We both expressed a strong and firm commitment to work collaboratively, both together and with the community of Rochester, to ensure the highest degree of safety moving
MILWAUKEE – A new Milwaukee Intermodal Station has been dedicated, the culmination of a $17 million project. The new station is served by 16 daily Amtrak trains, and the project transformed a former downtown rail station built in 1965 into a modern intermodal facility that will serve as the “gateway” to the city, officials said. In addition to the seven daily Amtrak Hiawatha Service round-trips between Milwaukee and Chicago, the daily Chicago-Seattle/Portland Amtrak Empire Builder trains stop at the station. Along with the construction of a new three-story, glass-enclosed “galleria” and other exterior renovations, the interior of the remodeled facility features a
WASHINGTON – Citing the need for a greater exchange of success stories and to provide additional passenger rail station improvement resources, Amtrak has invited communities to a “Civic Conversation” in Pittsburgh on Dec. 6. The conversation is part of the railroad’s “Great American Stations” Initiative. Amtrak President and CEO Alex Kummant sent “Great American Stations Civic Conversation” invitations to mayors and other civic leaders and state officials in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, West Virginia and Indiana. Case studies will be highlighted from large and small communities. Representatives of those cities will explain how they shepherded their projects to successes that sparked
The National Transportation Safety Board this week handed down a trio of recommendations in response to a January 2006 Norfolk Southern derailment that injured three people and caused more than $5 million in property damage. First, the NTSB recommended that Class I Railroads “modify, as necessary, your initial and recurrent training and operating rules to emphasize to your employees and the crews of other railroads operating on your territory that any signal that appears to display extra lighted aspects in a signal head should be treated as an improperly or imperfectly displayed signal.” Next, the NTSB recommended that Norfolk Southern
MT. VERNON, Ill. — In a two week test of an N-ViroMotive “GenSet locomotive” from National Railway Equipment Co., Indiana Rail Road Co. experienced significant fuel savings, low emissions and excellent tractive effort in normal switch operations, officials said. During the October test, Indiana Rail Road found that the single N-ViroMotive 2100 HP GenSet locomotive performed the same work as two SW 1500 locomotives in an MU consist, totaling 3000 HP. Fuel savings during the test were measured at 67 percent. “We were pleasantly surprised that this extremely fuel efficient locomotive also pulls as well as our two existing units,
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