Free Republic

Could Donald Trump be the president who brings high-speed rail to America? The Obama administration spent nearly $10 billion to improve passenger rail service across the country. While it accomplished that goal to some degree, it did not build the faster trains passengers can ride in Europe, Japan and China. Trains in other countries can travel 200 mph or more, but no train in the United States as yet travels faster than 150 mph. Most go much more slowly than that. Trump has proposed a $1 trillion investment in U.S. infrastructure, and he has expressed interest in improving roads, bridges,...

Some wildlife activists and Banff business owners are voicing disappointment over recently released results of a $1-million, five-year study into bear deaths on train tracks in mountain national parks. Jim Pissot of WildCanada Conservation Alliance, says the recommendations to create alternative habitat and escape routes, manage vegetation, install early warning systems and electric mats ignore one glaring reason grizzlies are attracted to the tracks — spilled grain from rail cars. “Bizarrely, after six years of study, Parks Canada and Canadian Pacific have blamed the bears,” said Pissot. “They are determined that the bears, wolves and other wildlife must change their...

A speeding train barreled right through U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s (D-Conn.) Friday press conference that was, ironically, on commuter rail safety. “Safety as you know it is paramount …” Blumenthal said just before an Amtrak train whizzed by near him, pausing the conference. Video of the moment from KHON2 shows the politician at the Milford, Conn., train station on a narrow platform where he is standing near the yellow warning strip, while he and another man standing even closer to the tracks held a visual aid from blowing away as the train breezed by.

California’s bullet train could cost taxpayers 50% more than estimated — as much as $3.6 billion more. And that’s just for the first 118 miles through the Central Valley, which was supposed to be the easiest part of the route between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A confidential Federal Railroad Administration risk analysis, obtained by The Times, projects that building bridges, viaducts, trenches and track from Merced to Shafter, just north of Bakersfield, could cost $9.5 billion to $10 billion, compared with the original budget of $6.4 billion. The federal document outlines far-reaching management problems: significant delays in environmental planning,...

California’s bullet train could cost taxpayers 50% more than estimated — as much as $3.6 billion more. And that’s just for the first 118 miles through the Central Valley, which was supposed to be the easiest part of the route between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A confidential Federal Railroad Administration risk analysis, obtained by The Times, projects that building bridges, viaducts, trenches and track from Merced to Shafter could cost $9.5 billion to $10 billion, compared with the original budget of $6.4 billion. The federal document outlines far-reaching management problems: significant delays in environmental planning, lags in processing invoices...

The Federal Transit Administration is raising questions about whether Metro rail ties are the proper size to keep tracks safely in place. A federal inspection report released Wednesday says inspectors have “consistently noted” WMATA crossties on mainline track that are 7 1/2 inches. Metro’s own standards call for rail ties at switches to have at least an 8-inch face. The inspection report noted that as of Sept. 24, Metro had not responded to federal inspectors’ questions about crossties that are a half inch narrower than internal standards. It is not clear how many of the smaller crossties exist in the...

A locomotive that derailed and plunged from a cliff into Lake Superior has been discovered after 106 years. Canadian Pacific Railway Locomotive No. 694 was discovered by shipwreck hunters in July, about 230 feet deep in the waters of Lake Superior, near Marathon, Ontario. The wreck claimed three lives on the morning of June 10, 1910.

From the article: "New York fire officials said several train cars came off the tracks at Longwood Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard in Hunts Point, Bronx, Wednesday morning."

The engineer of the New Jersey Transit train that crashed into Hoboken Terminal on Thursday, killing one person and injuring more than 100 others during the busy morning commute, felt well rested and was unaware of any mechanical problems in the moments before the accident, federal investigators said on Sunday. At a news conference in Hoboken, officials from the National Transportation Safety Board said they had interviewed the engineer, Thomas Gallagher, as well as the train’s conductor, who was not identified, and still were no closer to determining the cause of the crash. It was the first fatal accident on...

DEVELOPING: At least one person was killed and dozens more were hurt after a crowded train slammed into a busy station in Hoboken, N.J., during the Thursday morning commute, investigators and local media reported. The woman who died appeared to be standing on a nearby platform before the crash, a law enforcement source told Fox News, adding that the engineer was pulled from the train "semi-conscious" and rushed to a nearby hospital. People pulled concrete off bleeding victims and passengers kicked out the windows amid crying and screaming. At least 65 riders were injured, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said,...

The commuter train that crashed into New Jersey Transit's Hoboken terminal during the Thursday morning rush was not equipped with the positive train control technology that could have prevented it from roaring off the rails. What's more, not a single New Jersey Transit employee has been trained how to use the PTC technology, according to the most recent U.S. Department of Transportation progress report, which is dated Sept. 13. The agency has a Dec. 31, 2018 deadline for putting this technology in place. The report states that "NJT has had a contractor on board for several years." The report also...

This just coming over the wire. A New Jersey Transit train crashed into a wall after entering the station in Hoboken around 8:30 a.m. It is unclear from earliest reports whether the train jumped the track, but according to live televised coverage by New York City Fox affiliate WNYW the roof over the passenger waiting area collapsed, resulting in serious injuries. The exact number and nature of those injuries have yet to be reported. According to eyewitnesses, the train failed to slow down as it entered the station. One on-scene observer who witnessed the crash was WFAN anchor John Minko....

Train struck train station in Hoboken, NJ....mass casualties, reports of fatalities.

BENSON – The Benson Visitor Center’s murals and historic displays will be sharing the spotlight with a new attraction. A model train — the detailed replica of a Union Pacific SD 70 locomotive pulling five railcars — is now circling around the inside of the visitor center, mounted high overhead on a track suspended from the building’s ceiling. The project marks the first phase of a series of model train displays planned for the visitor center by Bob Nilson, tourism supervisor for the City of Benson. Funding for the train, track and support structures came through a $6,000 grant from...

The police spokesman said authorities did not yet know the motive behind the attack that injured six on Saturday in the canton of St. Gallen, but did not thought terrorism unlikely. "A terrorism background still seems very, very far-fetched," the spokesman said.

This is the story of a small, cute dog and a big railway Crown corporation — and what happened when the two collided. My son, Paul, and his wife, Aysha, recently made an emergency visit to London, Ont., when Aysha’s father suddenly became ill. The most sensible way to get to London was by Via Rail on a 6:45 a.m. train. The train was mostly empty, due to the early hour. As it was a hastily-arranged trip, they had no pet sitting arranged for their dog, a highly intelligent and very well behaved, non-allergenic bichon-poodle mix named Archie. They’ll admit,...

U.S. railroad traffic in July fell 7.9 percent to 2,027,768, carloads and intermodal units, compared with traffic volume in July 2015, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) announced this week. Total carloads in the month declined 8.8 percent to 1,025,367 units, compared with the same period last year. Railroads also transported 1,002,401 containers and trailers last month, down 6.9 percent compared with a year ago. Four of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by AAR posted increases during the month. They included grain, up 15.3 percent or 12,641 carloads; waste and nonferrous scrap, up 25.9 percent or 3,400 carloads; and...

Washington’s main railway terminal, Union Station, was evacuated on Wednesday because of a bomb threat, a police officer told Reuters. “We got a bomb threat,” the officer, who did not give his name, said as he urged people to leave Union Station in downtown Washington near the U.S. Capitol Building. …

Bear down

Following a brutal attack on a German train on July 18 by an ax- and knife-wielding teenager who was an Afghan refugee, the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack. Four people were injured in the attack, one critically. The attacker, identified in an ISIS video as Muhammad Riyad, reportedly shouted the Islamist slogan “Allahu akbar” (“God is great”) during the assault, which took place in the German city of Wurzburg. The ISIS-linked online Amaq news agency said Riyad was an ISIS “fighter.” The Amaq statement said: The perpetrator of the stabbing attack in Germany was one of the...