Railfanning.org News Wire

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Commuter Rail

NTSB to Release Factual Reports on Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail Collision

June 8, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board will release a factual report June 11 into a January Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority passenger train collision that left two workers dead and injured two others. At 1:38 p.m. Jan. 9, southbound MBTA passenger train No. 322, traveling at 60 mph, struck track maintenance equipment near Woburn, Mass. Six track employees were working on or near the equipment at the time. Two employees were fatally injured, two employees were seriously injured and two employees were unhurt. Emergency responders treated and  released ten passengers at the accident scene. The information being released is factual
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Commuter Rail

Washington Metro to Install More Red Platform Edge Lights

June 7, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — It’s going to get a lot easier for Metrorail riders to know when the next train is arriving. The transit authority is installing new red platform edge lights at the Fort Totten, L’Enfant Plaza, Metro Center, Smithsonian, Union Station, Stadium-Armory and Eisenhower Avenue Metrorail stations during the next several weeks. In late February, Metro installed new red LED (light-emitting diode) platform edge lights on the Red Line platform at the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metrorail station as part of a pilot program. “As we continue the next phase of installation of the new LED lights, we hope our customers will
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Miscellaneous

The Carlyle Group Acquires Majority Ownership of Atlanta-based RMI

June 6, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire
ATLANTA — RMI has announced that global private equity firm The Carlyle Group has acquired a majority stake in the company. Financial terms were not disclosed. Founded in 1979, RMI provides critical web-based transportation and logistics solutions for a variety of participants in the transportation industry, including short-line, regional, Class I and terminal switching railroads, railcar leasing companies, rail shippers and barge operators. RMI’s mission-critical, integrated services assist customers with many aspects of managing their operations, including transportation, equipment, freight and revenue management services. “Now is the right time to re-capitalize the company by bringing in a new equity investor,
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Short Line/Regional

RailAmerica Goes Green: Dallas, Garland & Northeastern Line First to Utilize Environmentally-Friendly Locomotives

June 6, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire
BOCA RATON, Fla.– RailAmerica, Inc. announced that its Dallas, Garland & Northeastern Railroad (DGNO) is the first of its 42 roads to put the new N-ViroMotives to work on the line. The DGNO purchased two N-ViroMotives from National Railway Equipment Co. to help reduce fuel costs and lower emissions. Each locomotive is powered by two diesel engine-generator sets that produce 700 horsepower each; if they sit idle for more than 20 minutes, the engines shut down and can be restarted automatically by positioning the reverser lever, which controls the locomotive’s direction of movement. “We are quite happy to be the first
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Canadian Pacific

TCRC-MWED and Canadian Pacific reach tentative contract agreement for maintenance of way workers

June 6, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire
OTTAWA — The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference – Maintenance of Way Employees Division (TCRC-MWED) and Canadian Pacific reached a tentative three-year contract settlement. The agreement follows a national strike which began on May 15th. Workers could be back in their positions over the next few days. The Memorandum of Settlement will be sent to the union membership for ratification over the next few days. TCRC-MWED represents 3,200 maintenance of way workers — PRNewswire-FirstCall
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Norfolk Southern

On Its Anniversary, Norfolk Southern Thanks Supporters

June 1, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern Corporation today marked the 25th anniversary of its formation, thanking the customers, shareholders, employees and communities that the railroad serves. “Any success we claim is a result of their support and willingness to be true partners,” said Chief Executive Officer Wick Moorman. “No company serves a better group of stakeholders.” Norfolk Southern was formed June 1, 1982, from the consolidation of two of the country’s most successful railroads, Southern Railway and Norfolk and Western Railway, which traced their beginnings respectively to 1827 and 1836 and the earliest days of railroading in North America. A top
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Amtrak

Amtrak Adjusts Schedule of Pere Marquette to Accommodate Track Work

May 31, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire
CHICAGO – Amtrak is temporarily adjusting the westbound schedule for the Pere Marquette service on the Chicago-Grand Rapids route to accommodate track work planned by CSX Transportation, the owner of the train’s route in Michigan. The temporary schedule will begin June 4 and continue through June 21, 2007. The westbound Pere Marquette (Train 371) will be scheduled to operate one hour earlier from all stations. The eastbound Pere Marquette (Train 370) schedule is unaffected. These changes will compensate for anticipated delays due to the track work. “While we recognize this temporary schedule change might cause some inconvenience for our passengers,
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Amtrak

Amtrak Delivers Study of Passenger Rail Service between St. Louis and Springfield, Mo.

May 23, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire
CHICAGO – Amtrak has provided a report to the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) that shows formidable obstacles to possible passenger rail service between St. Louis and Springfield, Mo. The report requested by MoDOT found strategic merit to the proposed route, including serving the state’s third largest metropolitan area, tourism potential, and connections to Amtrak’s national rail service. However, it would also require an initial significant capital investment and ongoing state operating support. The lack of a competitive trip time versus that of automobiles and a lower than expected ridership projection were also cited as concerns. Specifically, the report found