Railfanning.org News Wire

WMATA: Takoma Station Reopens After NTSB Testing

July 19, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Takoma Metrorail station on the Red Line reopened just July 18 after an all day closure due to the ongoing investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) into last month’s train crash near the station. The station will be open today (July 19). Red Line riders should expect slower-moving trains on the line as the investigation into the cause of the June 22 collision continues. Riders can expect that their trips may take an additional 30 minutes or possibly more to complete, and they should build that added time into their plans. Trains must continue to

Amtrak Unveils First ARRA Funded Rail Car to be Restored and Returned to Service

July 16, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Amtrak unveiled the first of 81 passenger rail cars to be removed from storage, restored to good condition, and returned to service as part of a program to add seating capacity to trains across its national system using funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), said Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman. The ARRA is better known as the “bailout” by most Americans. “The real story today is about people — the Amtrak passengers who will ride in these rehabilitated cars and the workers who are doing a great job bringing them back to life,”

FRA Issues NPRM on Technology to Prevent Train Collisions

July 16, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo announced proposed rules designed to prevent train collisions through the use of Positive Train Control. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) prescribes how railroads must use Positive Train Control systems to prevent train-to-train collisions. PTC technology is capable of automatically controlling train speeds and movements should a locomotive engineer fail to take appropriate action. For example, such technology can force a train to stop before it passes a red signal, thereby averting a potential collision. Other benefits of PTC systems include prevention of over-speed derailments and misaligned switches,

FRA Receives 278 Pre-Applications for High-Speed Passenger Rail Funding

July 16, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced that the Federal Railroad Administration has received 278 pre-applications for grant funding totaling $102 billion. The money will come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) — the “bailout” — for the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail competitive grant program. “The response has been tremendous and shows that the country is ready for high-speed rail,” Secretary LaHood said. “It’s time to look beyond our highways and invest in public transportation services like rail, which will enhance regional mobility and reduce our carbon footprint.” Pre-applications by region: Northeast Total Number of Pre-applications

Norfolk Southern Selects Fayette County Site for New Memphis Regional Intermodal Terminal, Supporting Crescent Corridor Initiative

July 16, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern announced that it will construct a new intermodal terminal in Rossville, Tenn., in Fayette County, to serve the Memphis region, as part of the railroad’s Crescent Corridor initiative to establish a high-speed intermodal rail route between the Mid-South and Gulf Coast and the Northeast. The $129 million facility, in which freight is transferred between truck and rail, will occupy a 570-acre site and is expected to open in January 2012. Norfolk Southern’s Crescent Corridor initiative is a multistate network of infrastructure improvements and other facilities intended to enhance Norfolk Southern’s 2,500-mile rail network that supports

Three Killed After Amtrak Train Strikes Car

July 15, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

OTTAWA, Ill. — Three people were killed when an Amtrak train slammed into their car at a grade crossing. About 3 p.m. Monday (July 13), the California Zephyr struck the car, which authorities say did not stop at the rural grade crossing. A total of five people were in the car at the time of the crash; at least one of the other two people was transported to a nearby hospital. The crash comes less than a week after five people were killed in Michigan when they drove around the gates of a grade crossing and their car was struck

NTSB Member Testifies About Multi-Faceted Investigation

July 15, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — National Transportation Safety Board Member Debbie Hersman, testifying before Congress, described a multi-faceted National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the deadliest accident in the history of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). A collision between two trains on June 22 killed 9 people and injured scores of others. At a hearing before the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Hersman noted that within hours of hearing about the collision, the Safety Board dispatched a team of investigators from its headquarters in Washington and from regional offices

NTSB: Fatigue Played Role in 2008 MBTA Trolley Wreck

July 14, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the two-train collision on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line last year occurred as a result of the trolley operator’s failure to obey a signal indication likely because she became disengaged from her environment consistent with experiencing an episode of micro-sleep. The lack of a positive train control system, which would have intervened to stop the train and prevented the collision, was cited as a contributing factor. At 5:51 PM EDT, on May 28, 2008, an MBTA Green Line train, traveling westbound at about 38 mph, struck the rear

NTSB Investigating DM&E Wreck

July 14, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

BETTENDORF, Iowa — The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a railroad accident that occurred in Iowa this morning (July 14). At 2:10 AM CDT, in Bettendorf, Iowa, a Dakota Minnesota & Eastern Railroad freight train struck a group of cars in a rail yard after crossing through a switch that was not lined for the main line, derailing 8 cars and 2 locomotives. Two crewmembers were fatally injured.

CSX: Safety Levels Strong, Contributing to Favorable Casualty Reserve Adjustment

July 13, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Corp. announced second quarter earnings of $308 million, or 78 cents a share, versus $385 million, or 93 cents a share, last year. Excluding the impact of discontinued operations related to The Greenbrier resort, earnings per share from continuing operations declined 24 percent from 95 cents to 72 cents. Second quarter revenues of $2.2 billion were down 25 percent from the prior year, primarily due to a 21 percent decline in volume and lower fuel surcharge recovery. Volumes continued to decline across the board, although the rate of decline in the coal market accelerated in the