In an unusual twist of circumstances, there are three events ongoing at this writing that have a lot to say about Amtrak corridors and trains in the Midwest. All were scheduled to take place within a three-day span.
Amtrak’s Empire Builder train 7/27 traveling westbound from Chicago to Seattle/Portland on Sept. 25 derailed near Joplin, Mont., at 3:55 p.m. MT. The passenger train was traveling between 75-78 mph, below the 79 mph speed limit, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported on Sept. 27 during its first media briefing.
Amit Bose, Deputy Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, took on questions about automated track inspection, crew sizes, hazardous materials transportation, and port congestion, among other topics, during a Sept. 22 hearing on his nomination by President Biden to be the next Federal Railroad Administrator.
The Belle Fourche, S.D., transloading facility is undergoing a $2.4 million expansion to accommodate up to 90 railcars; completion is slated for mid-July 2022.
FRA waivers come in handy—when you know they exist. Every company, utility and mode of transportation experienced accelerated technological adoption in 2020 to accommodate pandemic challenges.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has published a Safety Advisory on a Positive Train Control (PTC) issue recently identified during testing of ACSES II (Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System II) and I-ETMS (Interoperable Electronic Train Management System) technology.
During a recent interview, the CEO of the Texas Central high speed rail project did not shed much light on progress. Instead, there appears to be more fog developing.
A new financial plan has been submitted to the Federal Transit Administration to support the Hudson Tunnel Project’s inclusion in the CIG (Capital Investments Grant) Program; the project is one segment of the Gateway Program on the Northeast Corridor.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on Aug. 31 will publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) that provides nearly $362 million to eligible projects under the FY 2021 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) grant program, and to related railroad trespass prevention projects.
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has selected senior staffer Neil Moyer to coordinate preparation efforts as it takes on new intercity passenger rail on-time performance (OTP) responsibilities.
