Railfanning.org News Wire

No Picture
Commuter Rail

N.J. Transit Joins FRA ‘Close Call’ Pilot Program

November 19, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — N.J. Transit has started its participation in the Close Call Project, a safety pilot program designed to give rail employees the ability to voluntarily and anonymously report “close call” incidents that could have resulted in an accident but did not. “We are excited that New Jersey Transit is taking part in this valuable safety program that has already proven to reduce injuries and save lives,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We hope that others will follow suit and strengthen our efforts.” N.J. Transit is the third railroad – and the first passenger railroad – to join the program
No Picture
BNSF

Montana Sues BNSF

November 18, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
BILLINGS, Mont. — The state of Montana is suing BNSF over a 1984 settlement agreement regarding Central Montana Railway (CMR), a wholly owned subsidiary of the state. “The State’s suit primarily deals with issues that have already been before federal courts for the past four years,” BNSF said in a statement. “Many of these issues were resolved in BNSF’s favor by the federal court and arbitration panels. We intend to continue these efforts to demonstrate that our actions are legal, designed to provide Montana producers with rate transparency and protect Montana producers from excessive rail rates.”
No Picture
Miscellaneous

Axion Signs Milestone $957,000 Contract for Construction of Railroad Bridges Made from Recycled Plastic

November 18, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J. –Axion International Holdings, a next-generation technology innovator utilizing recycled plastic for high-load industrial products, today announced the completion of a milestone $957,000 contract for the construction of two railroad bridges designed from nearly 100 percent recycled plastics. The U.S. Army has commissioned each of these bridges to be built at Fort Eustis, Va., home of the U.S. Army Transportation Corps. The main structural components of these bridges will be made entirely from recycled consumer and industrial plastics using Axion’s proprietary immiscible blending to create Recycled Structural Composites (RSC). With load rating capacities of 130 tons, these bridges
No Picture
Short Line/Regional

Railmark Sells Michigan Railroad

November 18, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
WALLED LAKE, Mich. — Railmark Holdings announced that it sold its Michigan Air-Line Railway Co. to Nebraska-based Browner Turnout Co. The Oakland County Michigan railroad serves the communities of West Bloomfield, Commerce Township, Walled Lake and Wixom and is the home of the iconic Star Clipper Dinner Train, the first dinner train in North America, now in its 25th season. Browner Turnout Co. becomes the fifth owner of the rail line in 123 years. The price and terms of the sale are not being disclosed by the Company, however, Railmark is using the transaction to eliminate its long-term debt, redeem
No Picture
NTSB

Inspector Gives NTSB Clean Bill

November 18, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — For the seventh consecutive year the National Transportation Safety Board’s financial statements received an unqualified, or “clean,” opinion from the Department of Transportation Inspector General. The results are from an audit conducted on the Safety Board’s financial statements for Fiscal Year 2009. The opinion comes at a time when the Board has realized improvement in several management measurements. “As proud as I am of the continuing professionalism of the NTSB’s accident investigations,” NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said, “I am gratified that the agency has demonstrated achievement in its stewardship of taxpayer resources.” Recently, the Government Accountability Office issued
No Picture
Amtrak

Amtrak Cascades Adding New Stop

November 17, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
SEATTLE – For the first time in 38 years, passenger rail service is returning to the community of Stanwood/Camano Island with daily Amtrak Cascades train service making two morning and two evening stops at a new rail station beginning the morning of Nov. 21. “Amtrak is delighted to stop in Stanwood and provide residents with direct access to train travel and connections to our national network,” said Kurt Laird, Amtrak District Superintendent. “The opening of this new station could not come at a better time with the 2010 Olympics right around the corner,” said Paula Hammond, Washington Transportation Secretary. “Not
No Picture
BNSF

BNSF Honors Three Shortline Railroads for Partnership Excellence

November 17, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway Co. recognized three shortline railroads for their tremendous success and partnership over the past year with a BNSF Shortline Achievement Award at this year’s 14th Annual Shortline Conference on Oct. 19, 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas. The Plainsman Switching Company (PSC), Yellowstone Valley Railroad (YSVR), and Burlington Junction Railway (BJRY) were chosen because of their ability to increase the volume and development of new customers and for being good stewards in their communities. “BNSF is proud to recognize these three shortline railroads,” said Pete Rickershauser, BNSF vice president, Network Development. “Each shortline has greatly
No Picture
Canadian National

CN Reaches 20th Voluntary Mitigation Agreement

November 17, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
CHICAGO — CN announced a voluntary mitigation agreement (VMA) related to its acquisition of the principal lines of the former Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Company (EJ&E) with the Village of Lake Zurich, Ill., located 37 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. With this agreement, CN has VMAs with 20 municipalities that are home to two-thirds of the population living along the EJ&E in Illinois and Indiana. CN’s latest VMA will provide funding for a range of environmental measures, including rail noise mitigation, maintenance of an existing quiet zone, emergency response training, safety initiatives, and improved communication. CN completed its EJ&E
No Picture
Amtrak

Amtrak Gears Up for Thanksgiving Travel

November 17, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON – Anticipating its busiest travel week of the year, Amtrak is planning ahead for the Thanksgiving holiday and encouraging passengers to do the same. During the week, Amtrak will operate every available car and is scheduling extra trains to accommodate the extra passengers. On what is anticipated to be the heaviest single travel day of the year for Amtrak — the Wednesday before Thanksgiving — the railroad expects ridership to reach as many as 125,000 passengers system-wide – a 70 percent increase over the 74,000 passengers Amtrak carried on an average Wednesday last year. In preparation for the holiday