Amtrak sticks to employee vaccine mandate, prepares to announce reductions

Man in coat and tie speaking

WASHINGTON — Amtrak President Stephen Gardner’s presentation Thursday at a House committee hearing included justification for potential service cuts, related to the passenger railroad’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement, that may be announced next week. Gardner was taking part in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Rail Subcommittee hearing, “Leveraging Infrastructure and Jobs Act: Plans for Expanding […]

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News Photos: Amtrak heritage electric debuts (updated)

Amtrak electric locomotive with retro paint scheme

Shades of the AEM7: Amtrak’s newest heritage locomotive, ACS64 No. 662, made its debut on Thursday, handling Northeast Regional train No. 176 from Washington to Boston. The first trip came shortly after Amtrak released photos on Twitter of the Siemens locomotive wrapped in a recreation of the paint scheme worn by the earlier electric locomotives […]

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Back to business travel aboard Amtrak

Travel aboard a long-distance train for business? Before you set your time machine back to 1951, you might want to consider the perks of booking an overnight trip on a present-day Amtrak train! That’s precisely what Trains.com staffers did when they needed to get themselves, plus all their photography and video gear, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, […]

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Back to business travel aboard Amtrak

Travel aboard a long-distance train for business? Before you set your time machine back to 1951, you might want to consider the perks of booking an overnight trip on a present-day Amtrak train! That’s precisely what Trains.com staffers did when they needed to get themselves, plus all their photography and video gear, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, […]

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Hudson Tunnel project gets federal permit

Amtrak train coming out of tunnel

The much-discussed project to build new Northeast Corridor tunnels between New York and New Jersey has received the permit allowing construction to begin once funding is secured. NJ.com reports the permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would allow construction of the Hudson River Tunnel to begin in summer 2023. Once the two new […]

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STB grants Amtrak access to CSX yard in Mobile, Ala.

Surface Transportation Board logo

WASHINGTON — Score one small win for Amtrak in its ongoing effort to launch service along the Gulf Coast. The Surface Transportation Board on Monday issued a decision honoring Amtrak’s request for an order allowing it access to CSX Transportation’s Choctaw Yard in Mobile, Ala., to conduct a survey to determine a possible site for […]

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Woman receives $6.9 million in Amtrak derailment lawsuit

Amtrak logo.

SEATTLE — In the latest in a series of lawsuits stemming from the fatal 2017 derailment of an Amtrak Cascades train, a 28-year-old Seattle woman has received $6.9 million in damages for injuries she suffered in the accident at DuPont, Wash. Kylie Steele, who was 24 at the time of the accident, had “a life […]

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San Diego transit district to revive STB petition

People walking on railroad tracks as train approaches

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The North County Transit District plans to revive its regulatory efforts to build a safety fence along its rail line through Del Mar, Calif., saying it has been unable to reach agreement with the city, which opposes the fencing. The San Diego Union Tribune reports the district board of directors, at […]

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Friends of the 261 acquires private car ‘Caritas’

rear of train with orange passenger car with people seated on the rear

MINNEAPOLIS – The Friends of the 261, the nonprofit organization that owns and operates Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 No. 261, has purchased well-known private car Caritas, Friends of the 261 President and Chief Operating Officer Steve Sandberg tells Trains “News Wire.” Sandberg says the group acquired the car in a bankruptcy auction from the bankruptcy court […]

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Analysis: CSX, NS guard status quo in Gulf Coast filing

Freight train with blue and yellow engine leaving main line

MOBILE, Ala. — In a filing with the Surface Transportation Board earlier this month, CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern asserted the railroads’ freight operation will suffer a “catastrophic meltdown” if Amtrak is allowed to add two daily passenger round trips between New Orleans and Mobile. Yet the 277-page “opening evidence” document by the two carriers […]

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