Articles by The Cross-Tie

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

WASHINGTON — For the ninth consecutive year, total freight volume on U.S. railroads as measured in ton-miles has set an annual record, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported. Meanwhile, for the fifth consecutive year — and the 18th time in the past 20 years — intermodal freight on U.S. railroads has set an annual record, according to the AAR. Total freight volume for the first 51 weeks of 2006 reached 1.712 trillion ton-miles during the week ended December 23, breaking the 52-week record of 1.696 trillion set during 2005. This year’s total was 2.6 percent above the total for

Like any other year, 2006 saw its fair share of ups and downs for the railroad industry. Some stories were hard to list in a particular month. The controversy over the Duluth, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad’s federal loan is a good example, and could probably make a good argument for “Story of the Year.” Because of the difficulty, DM&E-related entries might not be found in every month, but its importance as a story in 2006 is not overlooked. While it is impossible to list every story that impacted the railroad world in 2006, here is a rundown of some of