Train derails are making the news ever since the Ohio fiery one. Just yesterday there were two. One spilled 5k gallons of diesel fuel and the other carried corn syrup. I was talking to college buddy yesterday. His son is a RR conductor, one of two people on mile long trains - engineer and conductor. He watches a computer screen to ensure tracks are moved ok, etc. He said there have been hundreds of derailments, but most get no news. His route is Vegas to California. He been involved with half a dozen. I thought maybe he was exaggerating but according to federal data the US averages three per day! Hot rails from the sun, hot bearings, speed, human error, wheel axle failures due to heavy loads are all to blame. In 2022 there was at least 1,164.

Growing up trains were as common as birds in my hometown and tracks and bridges were everywhere due to oil refineries up and down the Allegany river. My great grandfather worked at the union station RR terminal in our downtown. The lake shore RR passed through this tunnel on the other side of the river from downtown. I went in it but was to scared (or smart) to walk the entire tunnel.

 

Did removal of the caboose make things worse ?

 

Wow wasn’t aware that there were that many unreported train derailments. Always thought it would be interesting to work on a train see the country from that perspective.
How the heck do you clean up corn syrup?

 

The auto train that takes passengers from Virginia to Florida had to be rerouted due to a freight train derailment. The passengers had to spend 36 hours on it. The train was in a desolate area and they were running out of food, water, medication and booze. Passengers were getting into confrontations escalating to fights. Some were fighting over a packet of crackers. Our friends were delayed 3 years ago on the auto train as the train in front of them derailed. Traveling by train used to be a great way to travel. Not anymore.

 

I traveled by train from Chicago to Providence back in the early 90's and enjoyed it. That was before cell phones and everybody talked to each other, met a lot of people and heard some good life stories from people those days seem to be gone. Now that the media sees the attention that train derailment stories are getting we will be hearing about more of them.

 

It's all driven by money (profits). Some of the US Class 1 freight railroads -- there are only seven (7) * -- are pushing for one-man crews with just the engineer (driver) in the cab and the only employee on the train. Freight trains are routinely well over a mile long and may be pushing two miles long with 8 or so locomotives all slaved together in a darn near automated system. Trains can get so long the passing sidings are too short so fast trains like Amtrak are held back. Trackage is controlled from offices hundreds of miles away. There can only be so many defect detection systems along the railroads -- because money.

Amtrak is highly efficient in the NE Corridor (DC to Boston) where they own high speed track. Other areas they're at the mercy of the freight roads who have their own priorities (AKA profits) and passenger trains have to operate at speeds slower than they ran 100 years ago (!) due to congestion and rail conditions which are fine for 40mph freight trains.

-- Chuck

* Class I (freight):

• BNSF Railway
• CSX Transportation
• Kansas City Southern (Acquired by Canadian Pacific eff 14 Apr 23)
• Norfolk Southern
• Union Pacific
• Canadian Pacific
• Canadian National (Both Canadian railroads operate thousands of miles in the US)

Class I (passenger):

• Amtrak

 

Chuck your point is dead on. I don't want to bring it up but my friend blames Warren Buffet for all the BNSF RR's issues his son has experienced.

 

WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - The Surface Transportation Board of the United States said on Wednesday it had approved Canadian Pacific's (CP.TO) $31 billion acquisition of railroad company Kansas City Southern with a series of environmental and competition conditions.

The board, which oversees U.S. freight railroads, is imposing some requirements on the deal, which was agreed in 2021, including an "unprecedented seven-year oversight period along with extensive data-reporting requirements."

The acquisition, which combines the sixth- and seventh-largest railroads operating in the United States by revenue, will create the first railroad providing a single-line service spanning Canada, the United States, and Mexico. It is projected to add 800 new unionized operational jobs in the United States and will shorten the average length of trains by just under 20%.

Canadian Pacific Chief Executive Officer Keith Creel said in a statement that the board's decision "clearly recognizes the many benefits of this historic combination. As the STB found, it will stimulate new competition, create jobs, lead to new investment in our rail network, and drive economic growth."


In the same statement, Kansas City Southern said the decision "is the catalyst for realizing the benefits of a North American railroad for all of our stakeholders."

The decision is effective on April 14 and calls for reconsideration petitions to be filed by April 4. Canadian Pacific shares rose about 6% to C$105.74 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Kansas City Southern shares were transferred to a trust and the railroad has operated independently ahead of the board decision.

The STB said it expects the new single-line service will foster the growth of rail traffic and reduce emissions by shifting approximately 64,000 truckloads annually from North American roads to rail.

It also concluded that the deal will not increase safety risks in any meaningful way, an issue that has been raised in the wake of a recent Norfolk Southern derailment in Ohio. It noted that Canadian Pacific has had the best safety record of any large railroad over the last 15 years.

 

Greed. Removing safety nets and regulations causes all this stuff.

bank collapses, food shortages, disease outbreaks, etc. companies will never do what is right unless they are forced to do so at the expense of more profits

 

I think it all went down the tubes when they got rid of the caboose.