Category: RAIL

Flooding in Toronto caused power outages and general chaos in July. A major highway as well as other thoroughfares were flooded as the torrential rains tormented the city. Toronto Fire Services said it rescued 14 people from flooding on highways. “We’re actively rescuing people that are trapped in their cars or on top of their cars,” Deputy Fire Chief Jim Jessop said in a press conference. “We are triaging based on life safety.” There was flooding at a key transit terminus, Union Station. Water was seen pooling on the floor of a main concourse and stores at the station were closed. Parts of the underground PATH network, which connects to Union Station, were also closed due to flooding and stores lost power for a time. Subway trains were not stopping at Union, the Toronto Transit Commission said that afternoon. Some transit buses and streetcars were making detours on their regular routes across the city.

Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to Cotulla Station discovered and rescued another 20 migrants stowed away in a locked train compartment. On July 12, Border Patrol agents in Cotulla, Texas, conducted a train check and discovered undocumented non-citizens in a train compartment. The compartment was locked and all subjects had no means of escape. After unlocking the train compartment, agents discovered the migrants. The migrants were provided medical assistance and found all 20 migrants to be in good health despite the 100 plus degree temperatures. The migrants were from the countries of Mexico and Guatemala.

Four people were killed and at least 27 others were injured when two trains collided in the Czech Republic on June 5, according to local authorities. One train was a passenger train and the other was a freight train. Rescue operations were conducted and ended the next day. The authorities said they will conduct an investigation into what caused the crash near the city of Pardubice. 380 people were traveling aboard the passenger train, the fire rescue service said. It was traveling overnight from Prague to the city of Chop in western Ukraine, according to operator RegioJet’s website.

Multiple issues caused delays in the New York rail system in May. A wire that transmits traffic signals fell and struck an electrical power cable at Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor in Kearny, N.J., just west of New York City. The incident caused a situation that halted service on Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains in both directions in the northeast between Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan and Newark. With no trains moving into or out of New York across the Hudson River, the disruption impacted areas as far as Philadelphia and further. Passengers were stranded along the tracks and train stations were full of angry travelers. The resulting delays extended to more than four hours and many resorted to ride share services to get home. Service was not restored until after 10 p.m. That issue appeared to be unrelated to another problem the day before involving wires in a tunnel under the Hudson River that led to delays of up to 60 minutes. Separately on Thursday, New Jersey Transit warned of delays as long as an hour because of signal problems at Amtrak’s Dock Bridge in Newark.

A train hit a pickup truck in western New York state killing three people, according to local officials. Amtrak train 281 was traveling north from New York to Niagara Falls when it hit the vehicle on the track, Amtrak said in a statement. The incident happened Friday, May 17. All three of the passengers in the truck were pronounced dead at the scene Friday night in North Tonawanda, according to the city’s fire chief. There were no reported injuries to the 21 passengers and crew members on the train, Amtrak said.

An estimated 55 people were injured when a bus and a train collided in Los Angeles near the campus of the University of Southern California. Officials said the collision, between a USC campus bus and a Metro E Line train, took place on Exposition Boulevard between Normandie Avenue and Figueroa St, near campus. The Los Angeles Fire Department treated and released at least 37 people on-site, and sent 18 others to hospital. The driver of the bus and a passenger on the bus were the most severely injured, according to the fire department. “That was tragic,” a female passenger said in a news report while sitting in an ambulance. “I got thrown from my chair to the other chair, so my whole left side is sore.” The National Transportation Safety Board said preliminary information indicates an eastbound Norfolk Southern train struck another Norfolk Southern train that had stopped on the same track. Wreckage from the striking train spilled onto an adjacent track and was struck by a westbound Norfolk Southern train, the NTSB said in an email to The Associated Press. Authorities said the collision led to the derailment of an unknown number of cars, but there were no reported injuries or release of hazardous materials. A team “comprised of experts in train operations, signals and train control, mechanical systems, and human performance” was expected to arrive later in the day, the NTSB email said. Nancy Run Fire Company posted pictures showing a number of railroad cars scattered along the riverbank and at least one partially in the water. Local officials told reporters some ropes were used to assist some personnel to reach the roadway from the riverbank after the derailment.

Three trains were involved in a collision and derailment in eastern Pennsylvania but there were no reported injuries or evacuations. The accident left some railroad cars scattered along the riverbank and at least one partially submerged in the river. Officials there said the derailment was reported in the morning in Lower Saucon Township along the Lehigh River. The township’s police chief, Thomas Barndt, said arriving emergency personnel found “multiple trains derailed” but no reported injuries. No hazardous materials were involved and no evacuations were ordered, Barndt said.

A woman died after being stabbed in the throat Monday, April 22 on a Metro train before she got off at the Universal/Studio City station, and a suspect was arrested, according to police. The attack was reported shortly after 5 a.m. in the 3900 block of Lankershim Boulevard, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson said. “The attack occurred on the train. Somewhere between the last stop and here at Universal City station,” said LAPD Det. Meghan Aguilar. “She then is able to exit, and the suspect exits as well, but the attack does occur on the train.” The woman was taken to hospital, where she died, police said. The victim was described as being in her 50s. Her name was not released. 45-year-old Elliot Tramel Nowden was arrested.

Eight men were charged on April 3 with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of Modelo and Corona beer that is imported from Mexico. The group worked by robbing train yards and warehouses in dozens of thefts across the Northeast during the past two years. An indictment unsealed by federal prosecutors in Manhattan accuses Jose Cesari as being the leader of what it describes as the “Beer Theft Enterprise.” He reportedly recruited other participants via Instagram posts. The group usually operated at night, the indictment says, with some members meeting in the Bronx before traveling to rail yards or beverage distribution warehouses to steal from them. One or more of those charged drove a vehicle to the targeted facility to be filled with cases of stolen beer, the indictment says. Often, a U-Haul box truck was used. After arriving, the indictment says, they would break into the rail yard or warehouse, sometimes by cutting a hole in fencing, and then drive the truck onto the property. Cesari, 27, was charged with conspiracy to steal from interstate or foreign shipments by carrier and six other counts. Seven others face the same conspiracy charge.

A group of protesting farmers sprayed manure and threw projectiles and clashed with police during a demonstration in Brussels, Belgium. At the same demonstration, on Tuesday, March 26, protesters set the Maelbeek metro station on fire. Two police officers were injured in the melee with protesters, according to the Brussels Times. Farmers have been demonstrating across Europe for several months, citing numerous challenges to their livelihoods, including EU regulations and unfair prices.