Railfanning.org News Wire

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Safety

Willamette & Pacific Wins Harriman Gold, ASLRRA President’s Awards

May 20, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
GREENWICH, Conn. — Genesee & Wyoming Inc.’s Willamette & Pacific Railroad won the railroad industry’s top awards for 2008 safety performance. Today it was announced that the W&P, a short line freight railroad based in Salem, Ore., won the E.H. Harriman Gold Award for the best employee safety record among railroads working less than four million employee-hours in 2008. Harriman Award winners are selected by a committee of representatives from the transportation field and granted on the basis of the lowest casualty rates per 200,000 employee-hours worked, with a formula that accounts for volume of work performed as well as
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BNSF

BNSF Crews Begin $11 Million Track Maintenance Project in Montana

May 20, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
FORT WORTH, Texas — In June, BNSF Railway Company will send four maintenance of way crews to begin undercutting track (the removal, repair and replacement of ballast) and replacing ties and rail on BNSF’s mainline between Custer and Glendive, Mont. The crews are expected to undercut six miles of track, replace more than 75,000 ties and lay approximately 22 track miles of rail. “Our rail lines in Montana are essential for Montana farmers and America’s wheat harvest. Almost 150,000 bushels of grain came out of the state via our tracks last year,” said Dave Freeman, BNSF vice president, Engineering. “We
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Union Pacific

Union Pacific Moves Its 200,000th Loaded Coal Train From Wyoming’s Southern Powder River Basin

May 20, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific Railroad moved its 200,000th loaded coal train out of Wyoming’s Southern Powder River Basin (SPRB) coal field since Union Pacific and the former Chicago & North Western completed a 107-mile rail line to the region in August 1984. The Chicago & North Western merged with Union Pacific in 1995. One rail car of coal provides the energy togenerate enough electricity for more than 20 homes for a year. Union Pacific’s 200,000 trains out of the SPRB have carried enough coal to power all the homes in the United States for 5 years. Approximately 50 percent
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Canadian Pacific

CP: Temporary closure of Boulevard Perrot Nord

May 19, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
MONTREAL — Canadian Pacific advises West Island area communities that the level crossing at Boulevard Perrot Nord will be closed on Saturday, May 23, 2009 between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. due to “the necessary rebuilding of the road crossing,” the railroad said in a statement. All vehicular traffic will be directed to 1er Boulevard (Access Terrasse-Vaudreuil), in Terrasse-Vaudreuil, for the duration of the work. — CNW Telbec
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Amtrak

Amtrak Celebrates Groundbreaking for New Auto Train Station in Sanford, Fla.

May 18, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
SANFORD, Fla. — Amtrak is beginning to put into place the last piece of a multi-year plan to bring increased convenience, improved service and more station amenities to passengers who ride our popular Auto Train.The new, larger and up-to-date passenger station being built in Sanford, Fla., fulfills our vision for the Auto Train which added new passenger equipment in the 1990s, new car carriers in July 2005 and built a new station and mechanical facility at the northern end of the route near Washington, D.C., in 2000. It’s a plan that is working. During fiscal year 2008, ridership on the
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Canadian National

CN Announces Fleet Acquisition for Agawa Canyon Tour Train

May 15, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ontario — CN and the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corp. (SSMEDC) announced today an agreement to acquire locomotives and passenger cars to re-equip the Agawa Canyon Tour Train that runs north of The Sault into spectacular Canadian Shield country. CN, the operator of the tour train, is acquiring three Electro-Motive F-40 locomotives, eight coaches, two cafe/lounge cars, three club cars and a presentation coach from Ansco Investment Company of Denver, Colo. The fleet renewal will include the refurbishment of the Ansco cars, as well as two existing CN passenger dome cars. The re-equipped train will accommodate
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Norfolk Southern

‘It Will Get Better,’ Norfolk Southern CEO Tells Stockholders

May 14, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
NORFOLK, Va. — The business fundamentals that created a record five-year run for Norfolk Southern Corp. leading into the recession are still in place, and, “Longer term, it will get better,” said Chief Executive Officer Wick Moorman during the company’s 27th annual stockholders meeting, held today in Williamsburg, Va. “Rail’s future and our potential to help solve our nation’s transportation crisis are as promising today as they have ever been,” Moorman said. “The fundamentals of our business are very strong,” he said. “The factors that drove our growth over the past five years — higher fuel efficiency in a world
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Amtrak

New Haven Officer Named Amtrak Police Officer of the Year

May 13, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
NEW HAVEN, conn. – Police Officer Brian Cozzolino of New Haven, Conn. has been selected as the 2008 Amtrak Police Officer of the Year. Officer Cozzolino was chosen to receive this prestigious award in recognition of his numerous displays of exemplary performance in the performance of his duties. “Officer Cozzolino was selected for his numerous and significant contributions to the department,” said John J. O’Connor, Amtrak Chief of Police. “In his short tenure, he has demonstrated incredibly effective law enforcement skills.” Among the significant incidents exhibiting Officer Cozzolino’s abilities and dedication to duty and why he was chosen include: an