Railfanning.org News Wire – Page 320

Missouri Provides $5 Million For Improved Amtrak Service

July 8, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Reliability of Kansas City to St. Louis trains operated by Amtrak for the Missouri Department of Transportation can improve, thanks to $5 million provided by the Missouri state legislature and approved by Gov. Matt Blunt to increase track capacity on the route. The Missouri Mules (Trains 311, 313, 314 & 316) provide twice-daily round trips across the state and have been plagued by lengthy delays due to heavy freight traffic on the Union Pacific Railroad line. “This is great news for Missouri,” said MoDOT Director Pete Rahn. “This funding will lead to improved service, helping make

Sen. Joe Bruno Announces Plans for $40 Million Rail Logistics Center in Saratoga Co., N.Y.

July 8, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

MECHANICVILLE, N.Y. — State Senator Joe Bruno, R-Brunswick, has announced that a new intermodal and automotive rail logistics center will be constructed at the former rail yard located within the towns of Halfmoon, Mechanicville, and Stillwater. This new rail terminal will anchor the western end of Pan Am Southern’s Patriot Corridor, which will be a high-speed freight rail route between the Capitol Region and the Boston area once track and signal improvements are complete. Construction of the $40 million facility is expected to begin in the first quarter 2009 and be complete by April 2010. “As soaring energy costs have

Residents Urged to Stay Off Railroad Tracks, Reminded to Always Expect a Train

July 3, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — With summer activities in full swing, CSX Transportation (CSXT) asks you to stay safe and stay off railroad tracks. That means to enjoy activities such as picnics and fireworks somewhere other than railroad tracks and property, where hundreds of people are killed or injured nationwide each year. “Trains do not take holidays,” said Cliff Stayton, CSXT director of Public Safety Awareness. “In fact, CSXT trains will be running on July 4. For safety’s sake, residents should stay away from all railroad property. Always expect a train.” Consider the following facts about the dangers of trespassing on railroad

STB Denies Nev.’s Request to Halt DOE Project

June 30, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has denied a request by the State of Nevada to reject the application of the United States Department of Energy for authority to construct and operate an approximately 300-mile railroad line in Nevada, in the Board proceeding entitled United States Department of Energy — Rail Construction and Operation — Caliente Rail Line in Lincoln, Nye, and Esmeralda counties. The Board found that DOE’s application was sufficiently complete for this stage of the proceeding. The proposed rail line, to be known as the Caliente Line, would connect an existing line near Caliente, Nev., to a

New DOT Rule Makes Cheating on Drug Testing Harder

June 30, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters announced today a new rule that will make it more difficult for transportation workers to cheat on their required drug tests by requiring drug testing labs to analyze every test for tampering. “We want to make sure there are no doubts about the ability of anyone working in transportation do their job as safely as possible,” said Secretary Peters said. “There is no margin for error when it comes to the safety of the traveling public.” The Secretary said the new rule would cover the nation’s approximately 12.1 million transportation employers, safety-sensitive transportation

2007: A Strong Year For Railroad Safety

June 27, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Last year was another strong year for safety on the nation’s railroads, with records being set in two key safety measurements while a third fell just shy of setting a record. “Over the years, the railroad industry has developed a strong safety culture,” said Edward R. Hamberger, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) at the annual E.H. Harriman Awards luncheon which honors railroads with the best employee safety records for the previous year. “Last year the train accident rate was the lowest in history,” he said. “So was the grade crossing accident rate. The

Southwest Chief, Empire Builder and California Zephyr Midwest Flooding Disruption Update

June 26, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

Amtrak has been notified by BNSF Railway it has restored service through the affected areas on the Los Angeles-Chicago route of the Amtrak Southwest Chief, effective June 24. However, BNSF and Canadian Pacific (CP) railways are still working to restore passenger train service on two other routes disrupted due to flooding on the Mississippi River and its tributaries in Iowa and Wisconsin. BNSF and CP host these trains on tracks they own, maintain and dispatch. Amtrak is planning to operate limited alternate transportation through the affected areas for these trains until further notice, while hoping to restore rail service soon.

CSX Annual Meeting Results Too Close to Call

June 25, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Corp. today announced that the outcome of the election of Directors at CSX’s 2008 annual meeting of shareholders is too close to call at this time. The annual meeting will reconvene at 10 a.m. Friday, July 25, at the company’s headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla., to receive certification of the voting results. This adjournment will allow the independent inspector of elections time to tabulate the voting results. “We want to express our gratitude for the continued support of our shareholders,” said Michael J. Ward, CSX chairman, president and chief executive officer. “We have met with a large

Thames River Bridge Rail Service Outage Set for June 24-27

June 21, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEW YORK – Amtrak has scheduled limited alternate train and bus service during the rescheduled replacement of the moveable span of Amtrak’s Thames River Bridge in New London, Conn., Tuesday, June 24 through Friday, June 27. During that four-day period, regularly scheduled Amtrak service between New York and Boston will be suspended and limited alternate train and bus service will be provided in the New York-Boston region. Because of the bridge outage, Amtrak has scheduled three Boston-New Haven-New York Inland Route trains (via Hartford and Springfield) and limited connecting bus service to bypass the bridge outage during the four-day period

Southwest Chief, Empire Builder and California Zephyr Midwest Flooding Disruption Update

June 21, 2008 Railfanning.org News Wire

Amtrak has been notified by BNSF and Canadian Pacific (CP) railways of efforts to restore passenger train service on three routes disrupted due to flooding on the Mississippi River and its tributaries in Iowa and Wisconsin. BNSF and CP host these trains on tracks they own, maintain and dispatch.While still hoping to restore rail service soon, Amtrak is planning to operate limited alternate transportation through the affected areas for each of these trains until further notice. Through June 24, passengers are urged to call Amtrak at 800-USA-RAIL if they have travel plans through the affected areas on routes of the