Posted on 08 March 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
On 18 February, eight of Amtrak’s 26 weekday trains between the Washington DC region and New York city were cancelled following track damage in a severe storm the previous day. CSX Transportation company staff battled to repair the lines. North of New York city, power outages along Amtrak’s line between Albany-Rensselaer and Poughkeepsie delayed some trains [...] [...more]
Posted on 08 March 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
On 23 February, according to the Orange County Register, a 57-year-old Los Angeles man fell onto the track at Irvine station and was hit by a Metrolink suburban passenger train. Paramedics treated injuries to his left arm and right hand. His left hand was missing – apparently lost two weeks earlier, on 8 February, at [...] [...more]
Posted on 01 March 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
A resident of Beaver Dam, Kentucky, who drove onto the railway on 29 January, abandoned her vehicle when it became stuck on the track. Within minutes it was hit by a train. Kentucky State Police arrested 37-year-old Christina Moore, charged her with DUI (driving under the influence) and found accommodation for her in the [...] [...more]
Posted on 01 March 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
On 18 February, 22 wagons in a freight train on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railway derailed near the city hall in Santa Fe. Ten were tankcars, some carrying propane. Two tankcars were punctured, spilling an asphalt-based oil and solid waste, and residents in the area were evacuated as a precaution. The city’s mayor says [...] [...more]
Posted on 01 March 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
Railways in the north east of the United States were brought to a halt by the worst weather in decades. Washington’s metropolitan system closed down all surface portions of its system, retaining service only on the underground sections. Amtrak cancelled 18 intercity trains between Washington and New York, and also between Washington and various destinations [...] [...more]
Posted on 12 February 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
At about 02:40 on Friday 5 February, Amtrak’s Capitol Limited – bound for Chicago from Washington with 115 passengers – made an unscheduled stop outside Connellsville, Pennsylvania, a former coal-mining town 91km south-east of Pittsburgh. This followed a “powerful mid-Atlantic storm” that grounded flights, shut down highways, and left downed trees and power lines blocking the [...] [...more]
Posted on 12 February 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
On 8 February, a five-locomotive, 113-wagon Union Pacific freight train en route from Chicago to Butler, north-west of Milwaukee, derailed 24 vehicles in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. No injuries were reported. Wagons “were piled up along the track, some torn away from their wheels,” the Kenosha News reported: “A portion of rail was broken and twisted.” Pleasant [...] [...more]
Posted on 12 February 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
In the face of continued severe winter weather in the Mid-Atlantic and north-east, Amtrak issued a number of service adjustments for Wednesday, February 10: “Despite adverse weather conditions, the Northeast Corridor remains open. However, along this route and several others, Amtrak will be offering only limited services. The massive storm resulted in downed trees and power [...] [...more]
Posted on 05 February 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
On 12 September 2008, 25 people lost their lives and more than 130 were injured (four critically) when three-coach, diesel-hauled, commuter train no 111, outbound about 45km north of Los Angeles on the Ventura Line to Moor Park, failed to wait for a crossing in Chatsworth and collided head-on with a 17-wagon Union Pacific freight, [...] [...more]
Posted on 05 February 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
On 2 February, a pantograph on a New Jersey Transit train fouled the overhead catenary in the south Manhattan tunnel. With all traffic confined to the single remaining operable track in the north tube, Amtrak and other services were subject to persisting delays. These included trains entering and leaving New York’s Penn Station for north-east [...] [...more]
