Tag Archives: rail travel

Loose Bull On Tracks Snarls Travel At NJ Penn Station

New York City’s ABC affiliate reports: A loose bull was spotted running on the New Jersey Transit train tracks in Newark, New Jersey on Thursday morning. The first reports came in just after 10:30 a.m. at Newark Penn Station. NJ Transit said there were delays of up to 45 minutes between Newark Penn Station and Penn Station New York due …

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Biden Unveils $8B In Funding For Major Rail Projects

The Messenger reports: President Joe Biden on Friday is announcing $8.2 billion in new funding for 10 major rail projects across the country, including the first world-class high-speed rail operations in U.S. history. Biden will make his announcement during a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, a key swing state in the 2024 presidential election. The 10 projects that will be …

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Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor To Get $16 Billion Update

The Hill reports: The Biden administration on Monday will announce a $16.4 investment for rail projects along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor as part of the overall investments in infrastructure by President Biden, a longtime Amtrak user. The funding will go to 25 passenger rail projects and will come from the bipartisan infrastructure law’s overall $66 billion investment in rail. The projects …

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Minnesota Derailment Sparks Fire And Evacuations

CBS News reports: An early morning train derailment in the small town of Raymond in west-central Minnesota started a large fire and resulted in evacuations, authorities said. BNSF Railway said in a statement that about 22 cars of a train carrying ethanol and corn syrup among other things left the tracks at about 1:02 a.m.. No one was hurt, the …

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Dozens Killed In Greece In Head-On Train Collision

Reuters reports: A passenger train and a cargo train collided head-on in Greece on Tuesday night, killing at least 36 people and injuring dozens as the country’s deadliest rail crash in living memory threw entire carriages off the tracks. Many of the victims were thought to be university students on their way back from a long holiday weekend. The death …

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Residents Demand Answers In Wake Of Rail Disaster

The New York Times reports: Hundreds of Ohio residents gathered in a school gym on Wednesday night to demand answers about the ongoing fallout from a derailed train carrying hazardous chemicals, transforming what had been billed as an informational meeting into a heated town hall where officials with the railroad company didn’t even show up. The mayor pleaded with the …

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Rail Officials Dodge Meeting With OH Town’s Residents

Pittsburgh’s CBS affiliate reports: The Ohio village upended by a freight train derailment and the intentional burning of some of the hazardous chemicals on board has invited affected residents to a town hall meeting Wednesday evening to discuss lingering questions. Hours before the town hall meeting, rail operator Norfolk Southern said it will not be in attendance. In a statement …

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Fish And Chickens Die After Fiery Ohio Derailment

NBC News reports: For days, authorities have been telling residents of the area around East Palestine, Ohio, that it is safe to return home after a 150-car train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed Feb. 3. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said the chemical spill resulting from the derailment had killed an estimated 3,500 small fish across 7½ miles of streams …

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Ohio Rail Crews Vent Toxic Chemicals To Avert Explosion

The Wall Street Journal reports: A team of experts released a chemical from five tanker cars and ignited it Monday afternoon to prevent a potentially catastrophic explosion following a train derailment Friday along the border of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine maintained a mandatory evacuation Monday for residents within a one-mile radius of East Palestine, an Ohio village …

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Ohio Derailment Spurs Warning Of Explosion [VIDEO]

NBC News reports: As federal investigators worked to find out why a 150-car train derailed in northeastern Ohio, the state’s governor warned late Sunday that unstable temperatures in a car transporting chemicals could lead to an explosion. The area most at risk of being affected by the Friday crash, that within a 1-mile radius of the crash in the village …

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White House Announces Deal To Avert Rail Strike

Axios reports: Rail companies and unions struck a tentative agreement on Thursday to avoid a strike that businesses feared would’ve led to severe supply chain disruptions, the White House said. President Biden, in a pre-dawn statement, called the agreement “an important win for our economy.” A strike could have driven up prices at a time when inflation is showing signs …

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Amtrak Cancels Many Routes Ahead Of Possible Strike

Axios reports: Amtrak canceled all of its long-distance routes starting Thursday in response to a potential railroad workers strike. It’s the latest disruption stemming from the looming labor strike that could start as soon as Friday, which would lead to a shutdown of most of the country’s railway system. It is not expected to affect Northeast Corridor, as it is …

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NY And NJ Sign Deal To Start New Hudson Tunnel

The New York Times reports: For the last 20 years, the plan to dig new train tunnels under the Hudson River — among the most ambitious and important transportation projects in the country — has been repeatedly tripped up by political wrangling. So when the governors of New York and New Jersey agreed on Tuesday to split evenly their share …

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Multiple Injuries In Missouri Amtrak Crash/Derailment

Kansas City’s ABC News affiliate reports: Missouri Highway Patrol has confirmed that an Amtrak passenger train has derailed in rural Missouri early Monday afternoon. Several train cars can be seen on their side in photos posted to social media shortly after the incident. The crash appears to have taken place near Mendon, Missouri. Amtrak has confirmed that several cars derailed …

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NY Gov Unveils Plan For $7B Penn Station Makeover

New York City’s ABC News affiliate reports: Governors Kathy Hochul and Phil Murphy joined Mayor Eric Adams and MTA officials Thursday to announce the latest plans to renovate Penn Station. They want to change it from a cramped two-story structure to a sweeping single-level train hall, and they said they’ll begin accepting proposals for the massive undertaking. Penn Station has …

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Amtrak Reduces Schedule Amid Outbreak Among Staff

The Washington Post reports: Amtrak said Thursday that it will reduce its schedule between New Year’s Eve and Jan. 6 as it battles bad weather in some parts of the country and a surge in coronavirus cases among its employees. “Amtrak regrets any inconvenience,” the railroad said in a statement. “We are continuing to monitor changing conditions and will make …

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NY Gov Unveils Plan To Remake, Rename Penn Station

Gothamist reports: Governor Kathy Hochul plans to forge forward with a redesign of Penn Station and the surrounding neighborhood, but will put her own spin on the project first proposed by her predecessor Andrew Cuomo. “This area is is the beating heart of our city,” Hochul said during a press conference Wednesday, noting it’s the busiest transit hub in North …

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DC Metro Pulls Half Of Subway Fleet Over Safety Issue

Washington DC’s NBC News affiliate reports: Metro trains will only run about every 30 minutes Monday as the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority investigates an issue with axles on its newest rail cars, the transit authority said late Sunday. A defect – described as an out of compliance axle – found in a car that derailed on the Metro’s Blue …

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Three Dead, Dozens Hurt In MT Amtrak Derailment

The Associated Press reports: At least three people were killed Saturday afternoon when an Amtrak train that runs between Seattle and Chicago derailed in north-central Montana, toppling several cars onto their sides, authorities said. The westbound Empire Builder train derailed about 4 p.m. near Joplin, a town of about 200, Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams said in a statement. The accident …

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Long Overdue NYC-NJ Rail Tunnels Get Approval

The New York Times reports: For five years, the plan to build a second pair of rail tunnels between New York City and New Jersey has been deemed one of the most critical infrastructure projects in the country. But it needed a green light from federal officials. On Friday, after years of delays during the Trump administration, that approval officially …

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