News Archive (January 2 through January 8)

This page contains a railroad news archive for a single week. For all recent rail news, please see RailServe.com's RailNews Home Page.

Note: Some stories may no longer be available, or a fee may be required for full access.

Friday, January 6

• Governor Asks Lawmakers To Dump Bond Measure For High-Speed Rail (AP)
  Governor Schwarzenegger opposes $10 billion bond for high speed rail in California.
• U.S. Freight Railroads Complete Another Record-Breaking Year (AAR)
  Intermodal traffic and total volume set annual records in 2005.
• Seattle-to-Everett train service halted until Monday (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
  Mudslides north of Edmonds Washington shut down BNSF route.
• Commuter Train Derails Near Quantico (Washington Post)
  Virginia Railway Express derailment disrupted service for hours on Thursday.
• Canadian railway agrees to lower radio towers in Adirondacks (AP)
  Canadian Pacific reduces height of planned towers due to environmental concerns.
• Record donations confirmed for 2005 CPR Holiday Train (CP)
  Canadian Pacific raises more than $500,000 and over 206 tons of food.
• VRE Returns To Regular Service With Delays (NBC4)
  Virginia Railway Express resumes service Friday after derailment on Fredericksburg line.
• London Underground Strike to Disrupt Service Jan. 9 (Bloomberg)
  Station workers to stage second strike on Monday over contract changes.
• Union Pacific says it's not responsible for entire lead cleanup (AP)
  UP offers more than $15 million for cleanup, but will not comply with EPA order.
• FELA suit filed against CSX in federal court (Madison County Record)
  Former CSX trackman sues over repetitive stress injuries.
• Merrill Lynch ups price on railroads (Reuters)
  Analyst raises target price on BNSF, Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, and CSX stocks.
• Train wreck effects still felt a year later (Charlotte Observer)
  Residents of Graniteville South Carolina fear lingering effects for derailment.
• Florida East Coast to buy South Florida developer for $270M (Business Journal)
  Parent of Florida East Coast Railway purchases industrial developer in South Florida.
• Metra has new ways to go (Chicago Tribune)
  New Chicago commuter rail schedules include new stations.

Thursday, January 5

• Bush goes around Congress again on Amtrak board (Reuters)
  President Bush uses recess appointments to seat Hall and Sosa on Amtrak board.
• Va. Commuter Train Derails, Slows Trains (AP)
  Virginia Railway Express train derails Thursday morning, injuring four and closing route.
• Time is essence of rail (Times Union)
  Senator to reveal plan to cut Albany-NYC trip to two hours within two years.
• Coal dumped as train derails near Galesburg (Peoria Journal Star)
  BNSF derailment spills three coal cars in Illinois.
• CN Rail exceeds revenue cap for grain movement (Reuters)
  Canadian National to pay penalty for surpassing grain revenue cap by $118k.

Wednesday, January 4

• Greenbrier Companies Reports First Quarter Results (GBX)
  Railcar maker's profits increase 50% to $8 million due to improved margins.
• BNSF will make emissions changes (Daily Press)
  Goals include idling-reduction, low sulfur fuel, health-risk assessments, and more.
• Bombardier Gets $343 Mln Order From French Railways (Bloomberg)
  SNCF order for 73 trains to be delivered by 2010.
• Talks over Tube strike break down (BBC)
  London labor talks break down prior to a planned second subway strike on Sunday.
• Man gets 3 years for N.Y. bomb hoax (AP)
  July bomb threat at New York's Penn Station sends man to prison.
• Wabtec Signs Contracts to Supply Components for PATH (WAB)
  Contract to supply components for 340 subway cars is worth $65 million.
• Portec Rail Products Purchases Material Handling Product Line (PRPX)
  Portec acquires a portion of Kaybe's material handling assets for $115,000.

Tuesday, January 3

• DM&E wins another round (Argus Leader)
  Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern gets environmental approval for Powder River Basin Project.
• Some Travelers Still Love Riding the Rails (AP)
  Despite funding struggles, Amtrak served 25 million riders in 2004.
• 'Silver Meteor' 28 Hours Late (AP)
  CSX derailment delays Amtrak train 28 hours on New Year's Eve.
• Going faster, farther (New York Times)
  Europe and Asia embark on high speed rail projects while US interest lags.
• Northeast Louisiana rail traffic could double in four years (Shreveport Times)
  Kansas City Southern projects to bring increased freight traffic to Louisiana.
• Second underground strike looms (BBC)
  London Underground passengers face second strike due to labor dispute.
• Rail cars traverse hemisphere in their work (Press of Atlantic City)
  Sharing of railcars between railroads requires extensive car accounting.
• Commuter rail considered as Valley traffic snarls grow (Business Journal)
  Phoenix considers commuter rail to reduce traffic congestion.
• Slow-speed train accidents are most common in state (Baltimore Sun)
  Low speed incidents in Maryland rise to 26 in 2004, with no injuries.
• Everett-Seattle rail ridership more than double since June (Seattle Times)
  Ridership on Seattle's Sounder doubles with second daily round-trip.
• Investigators blame twister for derailment that killed 5 (Asahi)
  Tornadic winds likely caused a December 25th derailment in Japan.
• Southern Illinois Train Derailment Keeps Class Action Lawsuit Status (AP)
  Appellate court denies Canadian National's appeal in derailment lawsuit.
• Railway operators are 'pricing people off trains' (The Independent)
  Britain train operators condemned by passenger groups and unions for fare hikes.