Author: Marybeth Luczak

Map of the CPKC train’s route, showing the location where the train stopped on the Ignace Subdivision due to traction motor issues on locomotive KCS 4767 and the location where it derailed on the Brooks Subdivision. (Source: Railway Association of Canada, Canadian Rail Atlas, with TSB annotations, Courtesy of TSB)

TSB Issues Investigation Report for 2024 CPKC Train Derailment

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) on Feb. 24 officially released its investigation report into a 2024 main-track derailment of a Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) train near Brooks, Alberta, Canada. It revealed that the derailment was the result of a seized axle on the trailing head-end locomotive, and that “incomplete training” was a contributing factor.

BART is among the Bay Area transit agencies that have partnered to test and standardize sign designs, like those pictured above, that they all can use to offer riders a consistent “look and feel.” (Gordon Hansen Photograph, Courtesy of MTC)

Transit Briefs: MTC, DART

California’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and partner San Francisco Bay Area transit agencies approve standardized sign designs. Also, Plano, Tex., cancels its Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) withdrawal election.

(Courtesy of Alabama Port Authority)

Alabama Port Authority Launches MAX

The Alabama Port Authority on Feb. 23 reported rebranding and launching Mobile America Express (MAX), a service platform to help “strengthen the Port’s role as a catalyst for economic development statewide and

Current photograph of Santa Fe Railway diesel-electric locomotive No. 93, (Courtesy of Wichita, Kans.-based Great Plains Transportation Museum)

Santa Fe No. 93 Restoration Under Way

A complete cosmetic restoration of the Santa Fe Railway diesel-electric locomotive No. 93 is well under way and expected to wrap up by spring or early summer, Wichita, Kans.-based Great Plains Transportation

(Map Courtesy of GRTA)

STB Denies California Adverse Abandonment Request

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has denied a State of California agency’s application for third-party, or “adverse,” abandonment of Mendocino Railway’s (MRY) approximately 40-mile stub-ended rail line so that it can facilitate the development of a recreational trail on an adjacent rail corridor. The Board noted that, among other factors, “MRY has demonstrated a present and future need for use of its line” between Fort Bragg and Willits, Calif.

CSX in 2025 completed 75 training sessions and equipped 5,645 first responders with the skills and knowledge needed to handle railroad-related emergencies, the Class I railroad recently reported, sharing a specially produced video. (Screen grab from CSX video)

Class I Briefs: CSX, BNSF, CPKC

CSX trains thousands of first responders in 2025. Also, BNSF logged gains in grain last year; and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) continues testing biofuels.