Introduction CHICAGO — Amtrak’s Superliners are double-decked, stainless steel, window-loaded passenger cars — among the most modern available to the traveling public in the United States today. Trains offers passengers a look at what they can expect when they book tickets to ride these cars. This article looks at Superliners’ history and offers a review […]
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration wants U.S. regulatory agencies to address consolidation and what it considers to be anticompetitive pricing by railroads and ocean shipping firms, the Wall Street Journal reports in a paywalled article. The Journal — citing a source familiar with the situation — says the administration will issue an executive order this […]
MONTREAL and KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern has scheduled an online special meeting of its stockholders for Aug. 19 to vote on the proposed merger with Canadian National. Those holding stock as of July 1 will be entitled to vote on the agreement, under which stockholders will receive $200 cash and 1.129 shares […]
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority could resume light rail service by the end of July under a five-point plan begun by the agency KTVU-TV reports VTA fulfilled the first stage of the plan last week when employees were able to return to the Guadalupe rail yard in San Jose, the […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic remained strong in June, with overall carload and intermodal traffic running 14.5% ahead of the same month in 2020. Year-to-date traffic at the end of the second quarter was up 13.7% compared to pandemic-depressed totals for the first half of 2020, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. […]
CHICAGO — As of today, top speeds are rising from 79 to 90 mph on much of Amtrak’s Chicago-St. Louis Lincoln Service corridor. With signal system testing complete and certified for reliability by the Federal Railroad Administration, the higher speed will be allowed between Laraway Road, south of Joliet, Ill., and CP Wann, two miles […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak and Siemens Mobility have reached agreement on contracts for 73 to 83 new trainsets to replace Amfleet I and related equipment on Northeast Corridor and state-supported services. A press release from Siemens characterizes the deal as worth $3.4 billion, while Amtrak says the agreement is for $7.3 billion, including a long […]
Q: When I run a unit coal train of Bethgon Coalporter gondolas, should the colored (rotary) ends face toward the front or the rear of the train? Which is most prototypical? – Nathan Penn, Monmouth, Ill. A: If possible, a double-rotary-ended car should be the first car in the train, since the coupler on the locomotive […]
WASHINGTON — Responding to comments made to the Surface Transportation Board on their voting trust proposal, Canadian National and Kansas City Southern have made their final case for approval of a voting trust while the CN-KCS merger is being considered by regulators, rebutting at length claims made by rival Canadian Pacific. The Tuesday filing, available […]
TROIS-RIVIÉRES, Quebec — Canada’s Transport Minister, Omar Alghabra, announced Tuesday that the government was taking the first steps in a long-discussed plan to build a “high-frequency” rail line serving the Toronto-Quebec City corridor, steps which could see procurements begin this fall for the proposed passenger-only trackage in part of the corridor. In advance of a […]
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Brightline has purchased 110 acres at the south end of the Las Vegas strip for the terminal for its planned high speed rail line to Southern California, the company has announced. “Today’s announcement represents another important milestone for the project and is tangible evidence of our commitment and progress,” Brightline Holdings […]
EVANSTON, Ill. — A new report from the Northwestern University Transpotation Center says the U.S. freight rail proved to be reliable and resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic, even as other parts of the nation’s supply chain struggled. The report, available here, was prepared by Northwestern’s Joseph Schofer, Hani Mahmassani, Max Ng, and Breton Johnson. It […]
