Amtrak Names Mitchell Executive VP of Strategy and Planning

Amtrak on Nov. 26 announced that it has appointed Jennifer Mitchell as Executive Vice President of Strategy and Planning, effective Dec. 2. She will succeed Dennis Newman, who is retiring.

Minnesota Commercial Railway’s (MNRR) 86-mile network stretches from the City of Hugo on the far north to South Minneapolis on the south. It serves more than 80 customers. (Map Courtesy of MNNR)

MNNR Awarded $15.8MM Grant for Locomotive Project

Minnesota Commercial Railway (MNNR) will use a $15.8 million Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) grant to purchase up to six “custom-built” low-emission diesel locomotives for use on its 86-mile network that stretches from

OneRail Coalition Names Nissenbaum, Morales Winners of 2024 Canby Awards

OneRail Coalition Director Devon Barnhart announced that Paul Nissenbaum of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Mariah Morales of Amtrak are the recipients of the 2024 Canby Awards. The awards, named for

Commentary

‘Arbitrary and Capricious’

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on June 21, 2024 ordered the Federal Railroad Administration to cease its attempt to limit BNSF’s use of ATI (Automated Track Inspection).

Under FRA’s proposed rule for dispatcher certification, railroads would be required to have “formal processes for training prospective dispatchers, as well as verifying that each dispatcher has the requisite knowledge, skills, safety record, and abilities to safely perform all of the safety-related dispatcher duties mandated by federal laws and regulations, prior to certification.” (Union Pacific Photograph)

FRA: Comment Period Extended Again for Proposed Dispatcher, Signal Employee Certification Regs

The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) on June 21 reported filing petitions with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requesting a 60-day extension of the comment period for two proposals that would require freight railroads, Amtrak and commuter railroads to develop certification programs for network dispatchers and signal employees. FRA on July 5 and again on Aug. 22 extended the comment period by 30 days and 15 days, respectively.

Pictured: Parallel’s prototype railcar loaded with a shipping container. (Photo courtesy of Parallel Systems)

GC, HOG File Petition with FRA to Pilot Parallel Systems Technology

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) subsidiaries Georgia Central Railway, L.P. (GC) and Heart of Georgia Railroad, Inc. (HOG) on Aug. 10 filed a petition with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to pilot

FRA: NS Safety Culture at ‘Involving Level of Maturity‘

The Federal Railroad Administration on Aug. 9 issued its Norfolk Southern Safety Culture Assessment Report, undertaken in early March as a 60-day supplemental assessment following the East Palestine derailment and other safety

Amtrak Seeks $873MM in FRA CHIP Funding

Amtrak has submitted applications for $873 million in Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) funding for the Chicago Hub Improvement Program (CHIP) to “provide faster and more reliable service to support the Midwest’s growing

Aerial view of the Amtrak Empire Builder derailment scene, Sept. 25, 2021. (NTSB Report Photograph, Courtesy of the Billings Gazette)

NTSB: ‘Poor Track Conditions’ Led to 2021 Empire Builder Derailment

A combination of worn rail, vertical track deflection, subgrade instability and track misalignment led to the derailment of Amtrak’s westbound Empire Builder on Sept. 25, 2021, which killed three passengers and injured 49 passengers and crew members, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) final investigation report, released July 27.

​View of the accident scene, courtesy of NTSB.

NTSB Issues MRL Derailment Preliminary Report

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released a preliminary report for its investigation of the performance of DOT-111 tank cars in a Montana Rail Link (MRL) train that was involved in

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