WASHINGTON — Amtrak announced late Friday that its federally mandated annual public Board of Directors meeting will be held in Seattle on Dec. 4, 2024. As in past sessions staged at St. Louis Union Station in 2022 and at Richmond, Va. Main Street Station in 2023, company officials will review operating results from the just-completed […]
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WASHINGTON — Amtrak has asked the Surface Transportation Board to dismiss its petition asking the board to compel freight railroads to allow operation of Gulf Coast service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., saying the terms of an agreement between the passenger operator, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and the Alabama State Port Authority have been fulfilled […]
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OTTAWA, Ontario — Unifor, Canadian’s largest private-sector union, is calling on Canadian National Railways to prioritize passenger operations — and for more government oversight of the relationship between freight and passenger service — in the wake of restrictions CN has placed on VIA Rail Canada corridor trains in Ontario and Quebec. “This is about CN […]
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ST. PAUL, Minn. — Amtrak’s Borealis service between St. Paul and Chicago, which debuted in May, passed the 100,000-passenger mark this week, with officials from Amtrak and the states funding the service riding the train on Thursday, Oct. 24, to mark the occasion. “We’ve been pleasantly surprised by the excitement and ridership that the new […]
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BOSTON — A 13-day suspension of service for maintenance on a portion of the Orange Line led to the lifting of 20 speed restrictions, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has announced. The ongoing, year-long Track Improvement Program has now reduced the amount of the MBTA rail transit system under speed restrictions to 1.8 miles, or […]
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CHICAGO — The operator of a Chicago Transit Authority Yellow Line train that collided with snow-removal equipment last year had alcohol in his system, but federal investigators do not consider that a factor in the incident, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The Nov. 16, 2023, collision saw 23 people taken to hospitals while another 15 refused […]
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NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which until recently said its budget was balanced through 2026, faces a budget shortfall of $211 million this year, the New York State Comptroller said in a report issued Wednesday. That would rise to $652 million by 2028, the report says, and there are variables that could make […]
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NEW YORK — Demetrius Crichlow, who has been serving as interim president of New York City Transit for the past four months, was appointed to the position on a permanent basis today (Wednesday, Oct. 23) by Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Janno Lieber. Crichlow becomes the 12th president of the MTA department overseeing New York’s subways, […]
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SALT LAKE CITY — Stadler and the Utah Transit Authority have signed a contract calling for construction of up to 80 new light rail vehicles for UTA’s TRAX service in the Salt Lake City area. The contract signed today (Oct. 23, 2024) following approval by the UTA board of trustees includes an initial $129 million […]
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MOBILE, Ala. — Two ongoing questions about Amtrak’s Gulf Coast service — when it will begin and what the New Orleans-Mobile trains will be called — remained unanswered during a Tuesday, Oct. 22, groundbreaking ceremony for a station platform and layover track in Mobile. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Federal Railroad Administration Administrator Amit Bose […]
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WASHINGTON — Rail industry professionals from around the country assembled in the hearing room at Surface Transportation Board headquarters last week for the first meeting of the STB’s Passenger Rail Advisory Committee. The initial session’s purpose: to get acquainted with each other, discuss goals, and meet the four STB members to whom they will report. […]
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The eastbound California Zephyr passes the monument to the dome car at the spot where the idea for such a passenger car was conceived near Colorado’s Glenwood Canyon. Such a magnificent train, indeed, such an incredible car, might not have been possible without the Centennial State. Everett L. DeGolyer Jr. photo […]
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