Transportation News

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Spain train derailment kills 78

At least 78 people have been killed in the passenger train derailment in northwestern Spain on July 24. More than 140 were hurt, 36 seriously, after all eight carriages of the Madrid to Ferrol train came off the tracks near Santiago de Compostela. Read the complete story at B [...]

UP plans to restore massive steam engine

CHEYENNE, Wyo.—Union Pacific Railroad says it will try to restore one of the largest steam locomotives ever built to operating condition. The railroad said July 23 it reached an agreement to acquire a “Big Boy” locomotive from the RailGiants Train Museum at the Lo [...]

Railroad tankers roll through Denver building

DENVER – A train of tanker cars rammed through the back of a building Tuesday morning in a Denver rail yard. The mishap unfolded about 7 a.m. July 24 near East 44th Avenue and Sherman Street. Read the complete story at The Denver Post.  

Class I railroads report 2nd quarter earnings

CSX Corporation announced July 16 second quarter net earnings of $535 million or $0.52 per share. For the second quarter of 2012, CSX earned $512 or $0.49 per share. According to these figures, CSX is up a profit of $23 million over last year’s earnings for the same qua [...]

Canada toughens train rules after disaster

Canadian transportation authorities banned one-man crews for trains with dangerous goods Tuesday, responding to calls for tougher regulations after an oil train derailment in Quebec killed 47 people. Transport Canada also said trains with dangerous goods will not be allowed t [...]

Canada bans one-man crews on hazmat trains

OTTAWA — Transport Canada July 23 announced an emergency directive pursuant to section 33 of the Railway Safety Act to increase rail safety, banning one-man crews on trains hauling one or more cars loaded with hazardous materials. Although the cause of the accident in Lac-Még [...]

Amtrak teams up with Jim Henson in sweepstakes

Jim Henson’s Pajanimals has teamed up with Amtrak in their new sweepstakes. The sweepstakes offers three levels of prizes: Grand prize (one winner), first prize (five winners) and second prize (10 winners). The grand prize-winner will receive four round-trip tickets on [...]

Train disaster a dark turn for rail veteran

A blinding flash of orange light jarred Weyauwega residents awake before dawn on March 4, 1996. An 81-car freight train had been barrelling toward the farm town in central Wisconsin when it jumped a broken rail. The train’s propane and petroleum cargo had caught fire and expl [...]

RRB labor member announces staff appointments

Walter A. Barrows, the labor member of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), recently announced two senior-level staff appointments within his immediate office. Michael J. Collins, who has been an assistant to the labor member since April 2003, will assume the position of [...]

Insufficient brake force blamed in Quebec derailment

LAC-MEGANTIC, Que. – Insufficient brake force was applied before an oil train slammed into a town in Quebec on July 6 and killed 47 people, officials said Friday. Donald Ross, chief investigator for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, said the insufficient brake force [...]