Today's Headlines

Two die in Iowa crash; BLE member injured

ALTON, Iowa (AP) -- A freight train from Minnesota slammed head-on into an empty grain train near this small northwest Iowa town, killing a conductor and the driver of a van that was parked by the tracks, officials said Thursday.

Five locomotives and 30 cars derailed between the two trains in the collision late Wednesday, said Mark Davis, an Omaha, Neb.-based spokesman for Union Pacific.

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Positive Train Separation may have prevented Iowa crash

ALTON, Iowa -- A fatal crash of two Union Pacific Railroad trains in northwest Iowa Wednesday night could have been prevented by technology designed to automatically stop trains on a collision course, federal safety officials said Thursday.

According to the Omaha World-Herald, National Transportation Safety Board officials said the accident five miles south of Alton wouldn't have happened if the railroad had been using the special safety equipment.

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Photos of Iowa accident

For photographs of the Alton, Iowa accident, click here:

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com

Officials are investigating Calif. crash

FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) -- Federal officials are investigating why a commuter train crossed a set of tracks before the last car of a freight train heading in the opposite direction had gotten out of the way. The Metrolink commuter train was carrying 65 passengers on Thursday when it collided with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight, injuring 15 people, spilling cargo and igniting fires.

It was the first collision between trains for the 7-year-old Metrolink system connecting Los Angeles with neighboring counties.

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CN wants government overhaul of transportation industry in Canada

TORONTO -- Canadian transportation industries -- and the governments that tax and regulate them -- must come together now to forge a comprehensive national transportation policy, Canadian National President and Chief Executive Officer Paul M. Tellier said today.

Transportation is crucial to Canadian competitiveness in world markets -- 42 per cent of the nation's gross domestic product is exported -- yet Canadian carriers must contend with complicated regulations, unfavorable tax treatment and differing policy frameworks, Tellier told the Ontario Trucking Association.

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Hearings wrap up over BNSF depot

COEUR d'ALENE, Idaho -- A heartfelt promise wrapped up a three-day hearing on Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway's proposed refueling depot at Hauser, the Spokesman-Review reported.

Jean DeBarbieris, the hearing examiner advising the Kootenai County commissioners, made a pledge to the audience at Lake City High School on Wednesday.

"You cannot imagine how seriously I take this," DeBarbieris said in a statement followed by loud applause. "I will do what I believe is right for the good of all the people."

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