BALTIMORE — Amtrak will begin accepting applications for community grants related to its Frederick Douglass Tunnel project in Baltimore on March 23. The Community Investment Program is part of a $50 million Amtrak investment that will concide with the major infrastructure project. It will be open to nonprofit organizations and government entities within a quarter-mile […]
RICHMOND, Va. — Amtrak and the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority will launch new express bus service between Richmond and Washington, D.C., this Saturday, March 7, as part of ongoing efforts to address service changes because of the ongoing Long Bridge project. The Amtrak Connection service to and from Richmond will accommodate morning travel north to […]
WASHINGTON — NJ Transit will face lawsuits from out-of-state courts after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the transit agency is not entitled to “sovereign immunity,” the principle that one state cannot be sued in another state’s court. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in the decision for a unanimous court, wrote that “sovereign immunity is personal […]
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen have ratified a new four-year agreement with Alstom, the contract operator of Maryland Area Rail Commuter trains. The union also announced that train and engine service employees at Watco’s Austin Western Railroad have voted to join the union. The contract with Alstom, retroactive […]
NEW YORK — Amtrak has scheduled a week of urgent track repairs at New York’s Penn Station to coincide with the final week of the current service changes accommodating the Portal Bridge cutover, NorthJersey.com reports. The work is scheduled to begin March 9 and end March 15, the same day that work is slated to […]
NEW YORK — The Trump Administration’s effort to kill New York’s congestion tolling program — which helps fund Metropolitan Transportation Authority capital projects — has been ruled illegal by a federal judge. The government cannot revoke its previous approval of the program, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis L. Liman wrote in a 149-page ruling today […]
NEWARK, N.J. — A prolonged court fight over funding for the Hudson Tunnel project could add over $1 billion to the final cost of the rail tunnels between New York and New Jersey, NJ.com reports. That figure comes from an online forum conducted Monday, March 2, by the Regional Plan Association, a nonprofit planning group […]
BOSTON — The third of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s three heritage locomotives, this one honoring the New York Central, has entered service today (Monday, March 2). The three locomotives, honoring predecessors to today’s MBTA commuter rail service, are the last three F40PH-3C units in a group of 37 to be overhauled. The heritage units […]
NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani has called for reviving a plan to build housing over Sunnyside Yard in Queens, the mostly Amtrak-owned facility that handles equipment for the national passenger carrier, NJ Transit, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Mamdani met last week with President Donald Trump and said Trump indicated support for the idea. […]
Track maintenance projects requiring Amtrak cancellations or rescheduling are currently taking place or are forthcoming in the Southeast and West. Meanwhile, several long-distance trains continue to encounter a variety of problems as weather challenges subside. Southern California Most intercity and commuter trains traveling between San Diego and San Luis Obispo, Calif., will not operate next […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will seek public comment as it develops an updated strategy for regional rail service, the agency announced on Thursday (Feb. 26). The MBTA’s Rail Modernization Plan will aim to identify near-term investments and long-term needs to improve frequency, reliability, and accessibility while pursuing decarbonization strategies. MBTA General Manager […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has issued a Request for Proposals for battery-electric and Tier 4 diesel locomotives as part of its efforts to modernize its equipment fleet and upgrade regional rail service. The RFP, released today (Feb. 25) and available here, is part of a procurement coordinated with the Maryland Transit Administration. […]
