November 2009 – Railfanning.org

WMATA Officials Brief Safety Groups About Rail Yard Collision

November 30, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority officials met with members of the Federal Transit Administration, National Transportation Safety Board and the Tri-State Oversight Committee and walked them through preliminary information related to a Nv. 29 collision of two trains in the West Falls Church Rail Yard. The meeting was called by Metro and was a follow-up to personal contact that Metro’s General Manager John Catoe and safety officials made in reaching out to inform officials of the FTA, NTSB and TOC about the accident, WMATA said. The general manager also briefed members of the Metro Board of Directors about

WMATA: Person Fell Into Side of Train During Altercation

November 30, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Police are investigating a preliminary report of an individual who was pushed into the side of a Red Line train. The train was stopped and servicing the platform at the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metrorail station at about 3:35 p.m. today, Nov. 30, at the time of the incident. The train was headed in the direction of Shady Grove. The preliminary investigation indicates that two young men were involved in an altercation and one individual pushed the other into the side of the last car of a six-car train. The young man fell to the

Person Struck by Metrorail Train

November 30, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Metro officials were investigating a report that someone was struck by a Red Line train at the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metrorail station at about 3:35 p.m. today, Nov. 30. The train was headed in the direction of Shady Grove, officials said. Following the incident, Red Line trains were sharing one track — also known as single-tracking — between Farragut North and Judiciary Square Metrorail station. WASHINGTON — Metro officials were investigating a report that someone was struck by a Red Line train at the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metrorail station at about 3:35 p.m. today, Nov. 30. The train was headed

MTA: Cortlandt Street R/W Subway Station Reopens

November 30, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has reopened the northbound side of the Cortlandt Street R/W subway station. The station is located next to the Century 21 department store, the Millennium Hotel and the World Trade Center site. “Today we celebrate a significant step forward in the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan,” MTA Chairman and CEO Jay H. Walder said. “The MTA has played a key role in the revival of Downtown and we’re excited to provide customers with an improved station just in time for the holidays. The opening re-establishes a key travel link for Lower Manhattan residents,

WMATA Agrees to Pay Environmental Fine

November 30, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has agreed to pay a $200,000 fine to settle a six-year-old violation of the Clean Water Act. The violation was caused by the accidental discharge of acidic water from a rail car hand-wash operation to the sanitary sewer system at its Branch Avenue Rail Yard rail car washing facility, the authority said. The incident took place over several days in October 2003 and was halted when WMATA officials were notified of the discharge, the authority said. After the incident, WMATA officials reconfigured the operations of its rail car washing operation to comply

Two WMATA Trains Collide at West Falls Church Rail Yard

November 29, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — A six-car Metrorail train struck the rear of a parked six-car train at West Falls Church Rail Yard. The collision happened at 4:27 a.m. today, Nov. 29. Three employees sustained minor, non life-threatening injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital where they were treated and released. No customers were on board the trains. Service to customers was not affected when the rail system opened this morning at 7 a.m., officials said. Train No. 902 was the last train of the night pulling into the rail yard when it struck the last car of a six-car train that

Two WMATA Trains Collide in Rail Yard

November 29, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — A six-car Metrorail train struck the rear of a parked train inside West Falls Church Rail Yard. The collision happened at 4:27 a.m. today, Nov. 29. Three employees sustained minor, non life-threatening injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital.

CN Engineers in Canada Striking

November 28, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

MONTREAL –CN engineers in Canada started striking after negotiations between the railroad and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) ended Nov. 27 without an agreement on a new labor contract. Locomotive engineers will remain on the job in the following CN territories because of separate collective agreements: northern Alberta, parts of northern and eastern Ontario, northern Quebec, and parts of eastern Quebec and New Brunswick, the railroad previously said. On Nov. 23, CN notified the TCRC of its intention to implement only one work rule change to the collective agreements and increase wages by 1.5 percent effective Nov. 28. CN

Talks Between CN, Engineers’ Union Break Off

November 27, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

MONTREAL — Negotiations between CN and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) ended this evening, Nov. 27, with no agreement on a new labour contract, the railroad said. CN and the TCRC had resumed negotiations earlier in the day with the assistance of federal mediators in an attempt to reach a settlement. CN now expects the TCRC to strike the company’s Canadian operations. CN said a TCRC strike is particularly unfortunate because CN has repeatedly offered, and the union has refused, to submit the contract disagreements to binding arbitration in order to avoid a labour disruption. In a news release,

Canadian Pacific Biodiesel Testing Underway

November 27, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

CALGARY — Canadian Pacific and Natural Resources Canada have partnered on a biodiesel fuel pilot project under the National Renewable Diesel Demonstration Initiative, announced Lee Richardson, a member of Parliament for Calgary Centre. “The Government of Canada is working closely with industry partners like Canadian Pacific to support the use of renewable diesel in the Canadian fuel market,” Richardson said. “Our Government is investing over $800,000 in this important step forward to help reduce Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions.” The Government of Canada has announced its intent to regulate an average five percent renewable fuel content based on the national