Railfanning.org News Wire – Page 326

Railroads Set Safety Record in 2004

May 19, 2005 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — Employees at the nation’s railroads reported their lowest employee casualty rate in history during 2004, Edward R. Hamberger, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads, said May 19 at a luncheon ceremony honoring railroads with the best employee safety records last year. Twelve railroads received gold, silver or bronze E.H. Harriman Memorial Safety Awards in four separate categories at the awards luncheon. Hamberger told the audience that last year’s employee casualty rate was nine percent lower than it was in 2003, when the previous record was set. "And for the first two months of this year,

Amtrak: Problems Force Acelas Off Tracks, Metroliners Ride Again

May 12, 2005 The Cross-Tie

WASHINGTON — Amtrak suffered yet another blow in April, when its high-speed trains in the Northeast were taken off line, forcing the railroad’s management to add more Metroliners to the schedule. Starting April 25, Metroliner trains were added in most Washington-New York Acela weekday time slots between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. All 13 hourly departures will be covered by Metroliners starting May 2. “We are going to do everything we can to satisfy our passengers, running a reliable schedule that they can count on,” said Amtrak’s Senior Vice President of Operations, William Crosbie. Click here to read more.

April 2005 Wreck Roundup

May 10, 2005 The Cross-Tie

More than 20 cars from a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed April 26 in North Carolina, snarling rail traffic and delaying Amtrak trains. In all, 21 of the train’s 112 cars derailed. The train was traveling from Asheville, N.C., en route to Linwood, N.C., when it derailed about 40 miles north of Charlotte, N.C. No one was injured in the derailment. A dozen cars derailed April 22 in a CSX rail yard in Waycross, Ga., a Jackson, Fla., television station reported. The 12 cars, which were carrying primarily logs, and two engines derailed in the east end of Rice Yard,

Deadly Wreck Rocks Japan

May 1, 2005 The Cross-Tie

At least 105 people were killed when a commuter train derailed April 25.

N.J. Transit Approves Lower Fare Increases

April 21, 2005 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEWARK, N.J. – The N.J. Transit Board of Directors on April 21 approved an FY 2006 fare plan that delivers lower than expected fare increases for many commuters, as a result of $12.6 million in additional internal management efficiencies and revenue enhancements. Under the plan, which will take effect July 1, commuter rail and interstate bus fares will increase an average of 9.9 percent – down 25 percent from the original proposal. This level of increase is consistent with inflation, which already totals 9 percent since April 2002 – the last last fare increase – and is widely expected to

March 2005 Wreck Reundup

April 10, 2005 The Cross-Tie

On March 18, a 15-year-old boy was killed trying to beat a Long Island Rail Road train, Newsday reported. The boy was walking with five friends along Gillette Avenue headed to a barber shop, according to the newspaper. The boy who was killed ignored warning signals — including bells and flashing lights, authorities said. At least 13 people were killed March 13 in a derailment in the Vietnamese province of Thua Thien-Hue, according to Reuters news agency. Two of a train’s 13 cars derailed killing nine people immediately, according to Reuters. The four other people died en route to the

Side Tracks

March 20, 2005 Todd DeFeo

Short-line rail companies continue to carry their weight on routes that otherwise might have been abandoned.

February 2005 Wreck Roundup

March 15, 2005 The Cross-Tie

The man charged in a deadly January Metrolink derailment pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of murder, according to various news sources. California authorities initially said Juan Manuel Alvarez parked his SUV on train tracks to commit suicide, but changed his mind and abandoned his vehicle. Eleven people were killed in the wreck and hundreds more injured. One person was killed and at least 50 others injured when an express passenger train derailed Feb. 28 in eastern Bangladesh, The Associated Press reported. According to reports, the Joyantika Express derailed en route Dhaka. The train was traveling from Sylhet, a city

FRA: CSX Fined for Violations of Grade Crossing Safety Regulations

March 1, 2005 The Cross-Tie

The Federal Rail- road Administration (FRA) has assessed civil penalties against CSX Transportation, Inc. for multiple violations of highway-rail grade crossing safety regulations related to a Feb. 3, 2004 accident in Henrietta, N.Y., where a train struck a vehicle and killed an elderly couple.

The New England Council Calls on Administration to Reconsider Proposed Amtrak Funding

February 10, 2005 Railfanning.org News Wire

Following the release of President Bush’s proposed budget which would slash funding for Amtrak rail service, New England Council President James T. Brett joined other regional leaders in calling for the Administration to reconsider this proposal.