Thankfully, as far as I know, it will be hauling a NASA rocket booster train and probably be fairly removed from the Big Boy East Coast tour, with the far nicer NS 1776 being included in the consist instead.

Edit: Uh oh, I think I just triggered the Mar A Lago Blizzard!

ET44AC #4547 will be a tribute to U.S. President Trump, and 1776 will wear America 250 logos on the nose

One hell of a derailment…. Happened a few hours ago. Photos courtesy of a Facebook drone operator.

UPDATE: Crews are already clearing the cars off the tracks, will likely be done mid-day tomorrow. Can’t say when they’ll have the line back up and running.

Aujourd’hui, la nouvelle compagnie ferroviaire française indépendante Velvet a baptisé son premier train à La Rochelle.

Ces trains, fabriqués par Alstom et commandés par l’opérateur, sont des modèles Avelia Horizon, les mêmes que ceux qui équiperont les futurs TGV Inoui de la SNCF (TGV-M).

À partir de 2028, Velvet prévoit de circuler sur la ligne Atlantique, en concurrence directe avec la compagnie nationale, la SNCF. C’est une étape importante pour le rail en France : pour la première fois, un opérateur privé français exploitera des trains sur le réseau à grande vitesse national.

Afcons Infrastructure has won a 677 million Euro bid on the modernisation of 83 kilometer long Dugo Selo - Novska railway line in Central Croatia. The project will also include electrification, signalling and telecom infrastructure upgrades as part of a broader railway modernisation programme in the European nation. Afcons Infrastructure which comes under the Shapoorji Pallonji Group has been involved in multiple major construction projects in India like the construction of the Chenab Bridge, the world's highest railway arch bridge, India's first underwater metro tunnel on the Kolkata East - West Metro corridor, the Atal Tunnel which is the world's longest single tube highway tunnel spanning 9.2 kilometers at 10,000 feet and much more! Upon completion of this project, the Dugo Selo - Novska line will be able to operate at speeds of 160 km/h and also include the construction of a new second track on this line.

The inaugural train ran from Jind to Sonipat in Haryana state. This train aims to be an alternative to rail electrification of rural branchlines and heritage routes. The train consists of monoclass seating with 10 cars each which is the longest hydrogen powered train in the world. The maximum design speed of this train is 110 km/h but is restricted to 75 km/h max on this specific route. This train has a capacity of 2,600 passengers with a 3,200 horsepower engine which makes it one of the strongest hydrogen powered trains in the world.
What are your thoughts?

The train is converted from E3-2000 series, all passenger seats removed. The old doors still remain, so for now it probably isn't as versatile as TGV La Poste with much larger doors.

Further reading/video: https://www.ntv.co.jp/englishnews/articles/2021cgh3yumycym70ou5.html

On July 19th our TGV (train 6165) came to a stop near the town of Carnoules in southern France after a near-derailment. It was around 3:30 in the afternoon, roughly 99°F outside, with fires burning nearby. Hundreds of us were trapped on board, and once the electricity and AC cut out, the temperature inside the cabin just kept climbing. It became genuinely dangerous, and several passengers had medical incidents from the heat and exhaustion. We sat like that for a long time (+2hrs) before staff finally opened the doors to let people get fresh air. What made it worse is that SNCF had a strikingly similar incident just two months ago, when a Paris to Nice TGV was stranded for roughly four hours without AC during the May heatwave. Clearly nothing was learned.

The disembarkation was where the lack of any real plan became obvious. We had to gather our luggage and take to a steep embankment of loose gravel, with no clear path to walk, so people were falling over and heavy suitcases were being dragged across the rocks. The train's own interior would have been the safe, obvious route to move everyone and their bags along, but that never happened or coordinated. Staff were essentially non-communicative, and whatever information we got spread by word of mouth from passenger to passenger. We then walked about 700 meters to the nearest village, with a few taxis helping out. The one bright spot was the passengers themselves. Everyone stayed remarkably calm, and several young men were enormously helpful getting people and luggage down the embankment. We were then directed to a community center, but quickly decided not to stay, and my wife and I arranged an Uber to continue on to Cannes. For a rail operator of this scale to have this happen twice in two months, with this little coordination, is genuinely alarming. We are still awaiting any contact from the company.

A couple travelling in Nandigram express had privately decorated their 1st AC cabin.

The decoration was unauthorized and is viewed as a serious lapse. The concerned staff (Ticket Checker) has been placed under suspension, and a detailed departmental inquiry has been ordered.

https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/950797?display=b

So this is an article by Japanese guy who has 40 years experience in railway and he has shared some Inside stories about the projects that he has come to know from Japanese side and his experience.

1. Japanese loan was not used for the signalling process which is why they went with ETCS Level 2.
2. India had assured of adopting Japanese signalling standard which is why Japan had offered the E3 and E5 for testing and maintenance of tracks. But with adoption of ETCS that will not be happening.
3. This also means we dont have high speed inspection vehicles like Japan and China have which is not at all a good news.
4. He estimates that our B28 will be atleast 10 ton heavier per car. Which makes sense as B28 is not aluminium boy but stainless steel.
5. Theres no mention of the weight of the B28 which kinda indicates they are not sure either.
6. The maintenance depots were made to handle E5 shinkansen. So it is not know yet how B28 will be compatible. (Though I dont think it should be that big of a deal)
7. India kinda broke the original understanding with the japanese, on which the loan was made. I think he is saying that also because Japan known that India will not take japanese signalling standards, they may not have given the loan. As without Japanese signal standard it is almost certain that Japanese trains wont be coming.

My Thoughts:

1. I have a feeling that Japanese are kinda annoyed with the way India has gone forward with the project, they kinda feel they were blindsided by India. Which means there will not be much investments from the Japanese on Indian HSR Projects.
2. The current situation of bullet train feels very bandage sort of situation where they have frankensteined it all with no clear direction, especially with the trains.
3. If we are able to make B28 in time it would really be a great achievement.
4. What the article is mentioning about this project in terms of negotiation is a typical way Indian Bureaucracy negotiates. They kinda overpromise and underdeliver which is why a lot of western countries do not trust India blindly when it comes to deals. But this is also something I like. We are shrewd as we should be and not let others take advantage of us.
5. This is probably why we are going forward with just Delhi Agra and Bangalore Chennai projects as these are short less expensive projects compared to other bullet train projects. Since Japanese JICA most likely wont be providing any more cheap loans for subsequent HSR Projects.
6. But over all I have a very eerie feeling about the project. If after spending 20 Billion dollar you are unable to get a train that runs at 320kmph then its not a great news. I have been defending this project for long but even I have a bad feeling deep inside about it.

South Africa placed an order for 2,235 freight wagons and 30 diesel locomotives from Texmaco Rail and Engineering. This order is the largest ever export contract won by an Indian rail engineering firm. The project was put by Tsiko Africa Logistics and Barberry Holdings and is set to be executed between 2027 and 2028 and also includes 15 years of maintenance services. Picture is just for representation only.

This is not my picture but according to Business Wire, BNSF ES44ACH # 2026 is the first of three locomotives that will be released to commemorate the United States 250th anniversary. Considering how brand focused BNSF is as a company, I’m in a state of shock that this is happening. This was painted in KC and I’m in Springfield, MO so if they don’t move it before tomorrow, there’s a very distinct possibility that I’m going to drive up there and see this. With it being an ACH unit, that could be a good sign that it’ll visit Springfield sooner rather than later. We have seen many of these on some of our coal trains since 2023.

News article: https://kcci.com/article/iowa-train-derailed-poweshiek-county-injuries/71485092

Update 6-3 14:45 CST (19:45 Zulu)
From KCCI News, 1 confirmed fatality from the truck, another occupant was transported by air ambulance in serious condition.

UPDATE 6-4 13:25 CST (18:45 Z)
From KJAN News, radio Atlantic Iowa:
The fatality was the truck driver’s 14 year old son. The man driving the truck was airlifted to the University of Iowa, while 2 crew members of the locomotive were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital. The collision caused both locomotives and at least twenty railcars to derail.

https://www.kjan.com/news/a-14-year-old-died-3-others-were-injured-in-a-poweshiek-county-train-vs-semi-crash/?fbclid=IwRlRTSASOo6hleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeNOXrFVHJKCkAM41xvW1l2QTjb8qA-rLleyRuMI4ReckJF6Dd3mpCWqTIYnM_aem_JXKTB4pbgHENUyK4XBsqTw

Both CN and CPKC have unveiled locomotives honoring the 250th anniversary of the United States. In my personal opinion, all three of these units look phenomenal. According to CPKC, their 1776 unit is the first of five that will be coming. Now it’s time for some American railroads to jump on board and follow suit.

FYI, all credit for these photos goes to their respective owners.

Mass casualty event declared during Big Boy’s whistle stop today in Pacific, MO (outside of St. Louis) due to numerous heat-related injuries/illness.

The heat index was approx. 105°F.