Photo Galleries
Photo Gallery: Intermodal Passes Through Marietta, Ga.
All photos taken April 6, 2012, in Marietta, Ga.
Year: 2013
BNSF
N.D. Derailment Prompts Evacuations
A BNSF freight train derailed near Casselton, N.D., prompting authorities to evacuate 300 people as a precaution, The Associated Press reported. Video of the train wreck showed what appeared to be a massive explosion. Click here for more about the derailment.
Commuter Rail
Mica: SunRail ‘a dramatic evolution step for central Florida’
Officials in Florida are hoping the new SunRail commuter line will spur economic growth and reduce congestion on Interstate 4. But, when the line opens for service next year, it’ll also be the first step in a larger rail network that may one day include a high-speed rail connection. “This is a dramatic evolution step for central Florida. It’s the first time we’re building a fixed transit system — a regional one — with the ability of being able to connect into high-speed (rail),” The Associated Press quoted U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., as saying. Florida Gov. Rick Scott previously
Photo Galleries
Photo Gallery: Mixed Freight Through Kennesaw, Ga.
All photos taken Dec. 27, 2013, in Kennesaw, Georgia
Commuter Rail
New York Mayor, Officials Take First Ride on 7 Train Extension
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other officials on Friday took the first ride on the 7 line extension, six years after workers started construction. The $2.4 billion project, which is set to be completed next summer, is the first subway expansion project in more than six decades that is funded by the city. The extension of the 7 line is a key component of the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project, officials contend. With the roughly one-mile-long extension, the 7 line will continue to a new terminus near 34th Street and 11th Avenue on Manhattan’s Far West Side. Currently, the
Miscellaneous
Southern Museum’s Annual Trains, Trains, Trains Returns in January
The Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History will host its popular “Trains, Trains, Trains” event on Jan. 25, 2014. The fourth annual family-friendly event will be held from 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25 and will feature crafts, vendors and several operating model train layouts. The daylong event will also include interactive programs including a train-themed story time, railroad music and vendors selling train-related items. “Our annual ‘Trains, Trains, Trains’ event has established itself as one of the Museum’s most popular events,” said Dr. Richard Banz, the Museum’s executive director. “This event attracts die-hard railroad
Commuter Rail
Railfanning.org News Wire
The Cross-Tie: Vol. VI, Issue 1
Throughout the course of its four-plus decade history, Amtrak has drawn the scorn of detractors who saw the federally-subsidized passenger railroad is a drain on taxpayers. Now, millions of dollars in losses on the railroad’s food and beverage service have given more ammunition to opponents. Amtrak said it plans to eliminate losses on food and beverage service over the next five years. But, will that be enough to silence critics? Click here to read more. Metro-North Crash Brings Positive Train Control Back Into the Conversation The revelation the engineer at the controls of the Metro-North train that crashed in the
Commuter Rail
FRA Orders Metro-North to Follow Speed Limits
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on Friday issued an Emergency Order to Metro-North Commuter Railroad, mandating the railroad take immediate steps to ensure its train crews do not exceed speed limits. The order, issued less than a Metro-North week after a wreck killed four passengers an injured more than 60 others, requires the railroad to modify its existing signal system to ensure speed limits are obeyed and to provide two qualified railroad employees to operate trains where major speed restrictions are in place until the signal system is updated. “Safety is our highest priority, and we must do everything we
Commuter Rail
Feinstein: Wrecks Could Have Been Avoided With PTC
U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein wants to step up efforts to install Positive Train Control (PTC) on the nation’s railroads. In a letter to U.S. John Rockefeller, D-W.Va., chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Feinstein, D-Calif., says PTC could have prevented last weekend’s fatal Metro-North crash and also a 2008 Metrolink crash that killed 25. “According to experts at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), a properly functioning Positive Train Control crash avoidance system would very likely have prevented the deadly Metro-North derailment on Sunday,” Senator Feinstein wrote. “PTC systems would also have prevented the 2008 Southern California