PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration cannot tie transportation funding to compliance with its immigration policies. In a Thursday, June 19, ruling, Judge John McConnell issued a preliminary injunction blocking the ability of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the Department of Transportation from linking the funds to immigration actions, […]
WASHINGTON — The National Institutes of Health has launched a five-year, $10 million program to study and address long-term health impacts of the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment in 2023. The NIH said the study was being undertaken at the urging of Vice President JD Vance, an Ohio senator at the time of the incident. “This […]
Some NJ Transit rail has been disrupted because of storm damage, the operator has announced. Maryland’s MARC is also experiencing major storm-related disruptions, with one line suspended and two operating on reduced schedules. On NJ Transit, service on the North Jersey Coast Line has been suspended since Thursday night (June 19) and will remain halted […]
WASHINGTON — Two U.S. Senators have reintroduced a bill they say is designed to address the cost and reliability of freight railroad service by better defining railroads’ common carrier obligation. The “Reliable Rail Service Act of 2025” is sponsored by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.). It would amend the requirement to serve […]
BOYERTOWN, Pa. — A former Southern Railway and Norfolk Southern diesel has found a new home — and a new look — on Pennsylvania’s Colebrookdale Railroad. High-nose GP38-2 No. 5128, built by EMD in 1974, has been acquired by the Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust thanks to a gift from Scott and Susan Bentley, and now […]
MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District on Wednesday (June 18) held the official grand opening for the South Shore Line’s new 11th Street Station in Michigan City, part of a larger development project at the downtown site. Platforms at the station opened early last year, but Wednesday’s event marked the opening […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic was down for a second straight week compared to 2024. The first back-to-back weeks of decline this year come after 15 straight weeks ahead of 2024 levels. According to the Association of American Railroads, traffic for the week ending June 14, 2025, included 485,810 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.5% […]
WASHINGTON — Calls for regulations allowing automated track inspections and increased grant funding to help short lines were among topics discussed today (June 18) in a U.S. Senate subcommittee meeting on the rail industry. The hearing by the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, Freight, Pipelines, and Safety, “On the Right Track: Modernizing America’s Rail,” sets the […]
CHICAGO — Metra will receive more than $104 million in grants for station projects and the purchase of three electric switching locomotives, the commuter rail operator has announced. The funding will come from the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. The money will include $80 million for […]
BALTIMORE — The B&O Railroad Museum has launched a new website, AmericanRail200.org, intended as a one-stop source of information on the bicentennial of American railroading in 2027. The site will serve as the central clearinghouse for events and news, with organizations and individuals invited to upload information so users can find information on events nationwide. […]
NORTH FREEDOM, Wis. — The move to return Chicago & North Western 4-6-0 No. 1385 to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum is back on. A June 11 social media post by Mid-Continent announced that the locomotive is scheduled to arrive at the museum on July 12. The public is invited to attend what will be a […]
TORONTO — The Toronto Transit Commission, operator of the city’s subways and streetcars, has officially taken control of the long-delayed Eglinton Crosstown light rail line, the head of regional transit agency Metrolinx said on Tuesday (June 17). Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay said the TTC would begin controlling train movements no later than today, June 18. […]
