Issue September 2024 - Trains (2024)

Home//Trains

September 2024

TRAINS IS THE #1 MAGAZINE AMONG RAILROAD ENTHUSIASTS! EACH ISSUE IS PACKED WITH PROBING FEATURES, RAILROAD NEWS, EXPERT COMMENTARY, CUTTING-EDGE INDUSTRY REPORTS, DETAILED MAPS AND SPECTACULAR PHOTOGRAPHY COVERING RAILROADING’S INFLUENTIAL HISTORY AND EXCITING FUTURE.

in this issue

In every issueMichigan Central Station celebrates revivalTHE CITY OF DETROIT has seen its share of comebacks over the past 20 years, but nothing quite like what it experienced beginning June 6 as it celebrated the grand opening of the renovated Michigan Central Station, the beneficiary of hundreds of millions of dollars in investment by its new owner, Ford Motor Co.The massive edifice, built in 1913 by the Michigan Central Railroad and a potent symbol of that company’s wealth and power, is now the cornerstone of what Ford is calling its innovation center: headquarters of the company’s Ford Model e and Ford Integration Services teams, as well as other initiatives focused on transportation’s future. Tens of thousands took part in 10 days of free tours, scheduled to resume this fall when commercial activity at the facility begins.The…5 min

In every issueVent and burn at East Palestine was not needed, NTSB concludesTHE RELEASE AND BURNING of vinyl chloride from five derailed tank cars — which sent a towering and toxic black plume over East Palestine, Ohio, in February 2023 — was not necessary, the National Transportation Board concluded in its final report on the disastrous Norfolk Southern wreck that put a spotlight on rail safety.The tank cars were among the 38 cars of NS train 32N that derailed on Feb. 3, 2023, after the catastrophic failure of a wheel bearing on a covered hopper. The bearing was on fire but did not trigger critical alarms at two hot-bearing detectors the train passed before reaching East Palestine, where a detector alert sounded just moments before derailment.The wreck led to a fire that likely began with release of a flammable liquid from a…4 min

In every issueStudy says longer trains have greater likelihood of derailmentA NEW STUDY CONCLUDES a 200-car freight train is 24% more likely to derail than one with 50 cars, but some experts question the study’s methodology and conclusions.The paper, “The relationship between freight train length and the risk of derailment,” by researchers from Brigham Young University, Georgetown University, and Virginia Tech, was published in the journal Risk Analysis. It analyzed Federal Railroad Administration rail accident data from 2013 through 2022.The researchers then estimated derailment risk while taking into account the reduced overall accident risk that comes from running fewer but longer trains. They concluded that, compared to a 50-car train, a 100-car train has an 11% higher risk of derailment and that the odds of a wreck rise as the number of cars in a train increases.“Understanding derailment risk is…4 min

In every issueNorfolk Southern, short lines see success with joint programNORFOLK SOUTHERN and 40 of its shortline connections have produced outsized growth in carload traffic this year through a program that aims to improve interchange consistency and reliability.The Short Line Performance Project, which began as a pilot with a handful of railroads last July, saw interchange volume grow 9% from March through May. That stands out from Norfolk Southern’s overall merchandise volume, which was flat for the year and up 3% in the second quarter through May. And it’s well above the railroad’s 5% volume growth with all shortline connections.The program is proof that carload volume can grow when railroads provide good service and communication, says Stefan Loeb, NS vice president of business development and first and final-mile markets.Short lines are important to NS: Roughly 40% of its carload traffic…3 min

In every issueSupreme Court to review Uinta Basin decisionTHE U.S. SUPREME COURT will review an appeals court decision blocking construction of the UINTA BASIN RAILWAY, the planned 88-mile line in eastern Utah to transport crude oil to a connection with Union Pacific. The U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA struck down SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD approval of the line last year, saying the STB failed to consider the larger environmental impacts of drilling for and refining the oil. But the SEVEN COUNTY INFRASTRUCTURE COALITION, the government agency backing the project, says courts have split on the question of considering such downstream impacts and asked the Supreme Court to determine whether regulators are required to do so.A federal judge ordered BNSF RAILWAY to pay Washington state’s SWINOMISH INDIAN TRIBAL COMMUNITY $394.5 million for violating a 1991 operating…1 min

Issue September 2024 - Trains (2024)

you may also like

References