Railpace Hot News
Keep up to date on the latest railroad news from the northeastern United States and Canada, edited by Carl Perelman.
June 28, 2024
Amtrak Awards Contract to Build New Connecticut River Bridge
Amtrak will soon begin construction of a new, modern Connecticut River Bridge to replace the existing bridge following the award of a construction contract to O&G/Tutor Perini, a Joint Venture. This milestone comes on the heels of recent permit approvals from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
June 27, 2024
VIA Rail’s New Siemens Train Sets Arrive in Southwest Ontario:
VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail), on June 26, highlighted the arrival of its new fleet in Southwestern Ontario (between London and Windsor) in the presence of more than fifty partners and stakeholders. The achievement of this major modernization milestone means that by the summer of 2025, the entire Québec City-Windsor corridor will be served by state-of-the-art, modern, accessible and environmentally friendly trains.
June 27, 2024
Weekly Rail Traffic for the Week Ending June 22, 2024
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending June 22, 2024. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 485,557 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.6 percent compared with the same week last year.
June 27, 2024
Amtrak and CSX Partner on Positive Train Control Installation to Improve Safety for the Amtrak Downeaster
Amtrak and CSX, in partnership with the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA), will install Positive Train Control (PTC), the technology capable of automatically controlling train speeds and movements, on more than 100 miles of track between Haverhill, Mass. and Brunswick, Maine.
June 26, 2024
Failed Wheel Bearing Caused Norfolk Southern Train Derailment in East Palestine, Ohio
The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that a rail car’s defective wheel bearing caused the derailment and subsequent hazardous material release in East Palestine, Ohio, last year.
June 26, 2024
Possible Strike at NJ Transit:
On Tuesday the National Mediation Board (NMB), the federal agency that regulates labor relations for railroads and airlines, has granted release to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and New Jersey Transit (NJT), ending federal mediation
June 25, 2024
Amtrak and Partners Break Ground on New Brattleboro Station and Platform Upgrades
Amtrak, in conjunction with the town of Brattleboro, state of Vermont, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), New England Central Railroad (NECR) and the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans), broke ground today on a new Brattleboro Station and the state’s first-ever level boarding train platform.
June 24, 2024
Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Requirements for Freight Railroads to Provide Hazmat Information to First Responders
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced a final rule to protect firefighters and improve public safety. The final rule requires railroads to proactively provide first responders with real-time, electronic information about rail hazmat shipments to the primary Public Safety Answering Point (for example, a 9-1-1 call center or emergency responder phone app such as the AskRail Mobile App as soon as the railroad is aware of an accident or incident involving hazardous materials.
June 21, 2024
NJ Transit Cuts Ribbon For Grand Reopening of Fully Renovated Elizabeth Rail Station
On Tuesday, June 18, NJ TRANSIT officially cut the ribbon on the fully renovated Elizabeth Station which includes additional platform capacity and access with upgraded elevators and additional staircases, new station buildings and a renovated public plaza.
