Railfanning.org News Wire – Page 360

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.

January 2005 Wreck Roundup

February 5, 2005 The Cross-Tie

A 54-year-old woman was killed Jan. 21 in Pickens County, S.C, when her 1997 Ford Escort was struck by the northbound Crescent Amtrak passenger train, the Anderson Independent-Mail newspaper reported. It appears the woman panicked when she realized she was stopped on the tracks, but was unable to move her car, according to the newspaper’s report. A Jan. 20 derailment at Union Station in Washington snarled rail traffic for hours. Two cars from train No. 132 derailed at the northern end of the station, an Amtrak spokesman told Reuters news agency. No one was hurt. Dozens of other trains into

NTSB Approves Safety Recommendations

February 3, 2005 Railfanning.org News Wire

The National Transportation Safety Board on Feb. 3 approved the following: The National Transportation Safety Board therefore makes the following safety recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration: Require in 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 213, Track Safety Standards, that rail cracks originating from bond wire attachments be identified as rail defects and that information be collected on the methods and locations of those attachments. (R-05-01) Require in 49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 225, Guide for Preparing Accident/Incident Reports, that derailments caused by rail cracks originating from bond wire attachments be reported with a specific cause code and that

Motiva Enterprises and Norfolk Southern Build Largest Rail-Served Ethanol Terminal in New York Harbor

February 2, 2005 Railfanning.org News Wire

NORFOLK, Va. — Motiva Enterprises LLC and Norfolk Southern Corporation on Feb. 2 announced the opening of a new high-capacity ethanol terminal located at Motiva’s petroleum distribution terminal in Sewaren, N.J. It is the largest rail-served ethanol terminal in the New York Harbor area. The terminal is strategically located to serve the New York and Connecticut markets for ethanol. The facility, which replaces Motiva’s 23-car-per-day terminal, is capable of unloading 40 railcars per day. The expansion more than doubled the terminal’s capacity from 1 million gallons per day to more than 2 million. Ethanol is increasingly being used as a

2004 in Review: Railroad-by-Railroad

February 1, 2005 Railfanning.org News Wire

U.S. freight railroads completed a record-breaking year by originating 1,588,950 carloads of freight in December 2004 and an additional 1,029,547 intermodal trailers and containers, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported.