September issue of RT&S now online
The September issue of RT&S features a spotlight story on the 2020 RT&S Engineer of the Year, Ed Boyle, as well as our 2020 Product Innovation Showcase and an overview of safety
Safety
Audit reports Washington, D.C, Metrorail lacks strong safety culture
In 2009, a Metro train crashed and killed nine people. In 2015, there was a major smoke problem that killed one passenger and left many injured. Although they happened years ago, these
BNSF fights fires in Yakima River Canyon
Sometimes a major fire needs to be fought with a locomotive. BNSF is supplying a firefighting train to help battle the Evans Canyon Fire. The train can transport firefighters to hard-to-reach areas
MBTA speeds through improvements to Green Line E Branch
Complete shutdowns and complete satisfaction go hand in hand for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). The agency stopped service on the Green Line E Branch to complete some much needed track
NTSB: Operator presence control could have prevented fatal railway worker accident
The National Transportation Safety Board issued Railroad Accident Report 20/02 Thursday [August 27, 2020], detailing its investigation of the March 12, 2018, fatal injury of a CSX Transportation equipment operator near Wartrace,
More details emerge from Sound Transit hi-rail accident
New details are emerging about the accident that injured four workers on a Sound Transit project in Seattle. The project has been shut down for investigation purposes. Sound Transit says the ones
Railroads dealing with double whammy of storms on the Gulf Coast
It’s that time of year when U.S. residents and companies on the Eastern and Gulf coasts keep a wary eye on the skies and spend time mentally and physically preparing for the
FRA + STB: seven Class 1s, one letter
Curiously timed with the start of the Republican National Convention (or perhaps not so curiously), the Surface Transportation Board and Federal Railroad Administration on Aug. 24 sent joint, identical letters to the
BNSF update on wounded police officer
On Monday, RT&S reported on the struggle a BNSF police officer had with a trespasser at a Denver BNSF facility last Saturday. The latest information we had at the time of the
MTA announces significant Positive Train Control advances on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) [yesterday] announced major progress made on implementing Positive Train Control (PTC) on MTA Long Island Rail Road and MTA Metro-North Railroad, reaffirming both railroads will be in
FRA refutes index ranking regarding train derailments
24/7 Wall Street, using numbers from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Association of American Railroads, has created an index ranking the best and worst states when it comes to rail
Two CN workers performing grade crossing repair work are struck and injured
Global News reports that two Canadian National workers who were repairing a grade crossing near Edmonton, Alberta were struck by a pickup truck on Friday evening. Both suffered serious injuries and are
More Metro: Most rail and bus service returns to pre-pandemic levels in largest ramp-up in agency’s history
More trains, more stations, more buses, more hours. Metro is finalizing plans to restore most rail and bus service to pre-Covid levels across the region in the largest – and likely most
PTC Progress – NJ Transit and New Mexico River Rail Runner respond
This week, RT&S reported on the FRA’s quarterly summary of PTC implementation progress, along with a second report providing some details around NJ Transit’s progress. As two commuter railroads that the Federal
Amtrak completes PTC implementation
Following installation on approximately one mile of slow-speed track in the Chicago terminal, Amtrak has now implemented Positive Train Control (PTC) on all of its owned or controlled tracks and locomotives. In
LIRR rejects FRA’s interoperability claim with Positive Train Control
The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is doing pretty well with implementing Positive Train Control. The latest report from the Federal Railroad Administration shows LIRR has PTC on just over 72 percent
NJ Transit continues work on PTC – Updated 8.14.20
Ed. Note: After speaking with NJ Transit yesterday, we learned that the first version of this story contained a couple of errors that we have now corrected. We apologize for the errors.
FRA encouraged by significant advancements in PTC implementation
The U.S. DOT’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) released a quarterly status update on railroads’ self-reported progress, as of June 30, 2020, toward fully implementing positive train control (PTC) systems by Dec. 31,
AECOM launches TRIPS, Transportation Resilient Integrated Passenger Solution
AECOM, the world’s premier infrastructure firm, [recently] announced it has launched its newest integrated technology solution, Transportation Resilient Integrated Passenger Solution (TRIPS), which supports the safe return to service for the entire
Weekend Cinema: MBTA upgrades another rail crossing
We have another time-lapse video from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. This one shows the rail crossing improvement on Harvard Street. Below are photos of rail maintenance in Toronto.