PORTLAND, Ore. — Amtrak Cascades and Coast Starlight service has been halted between Portland and Seattle for 48 hours because of a landslide earlier today, Amtrak announced shortly before noon PT today (Friday, Feb. 16). It is the fourth slide disruption on the route in less than a month. For both today and Saturday, Feb. […]
Nearly three years after Amtrak said it would launch Gulf Coast service with or without host railroad cooperation, its passenger trains still are not running between Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans. And as the saga drags on you have to wonder if they ever will. After years of frustration with CSX, Amtrak in 2021 took […]
VERO BEACH, Fla. — County Commissioners in Indian River County, Fla., will not seek to develop quiet zones at 22 grade crossings in unincorporated areas along Brightline’s route in the county, preferring the safety impact of having trains continuing to sound their horns. The TC Palm reports that the commissioners made that decision at a […]
SEATTLE — Sound Transit will launch light rail service on the first portion of the East Link Extension, a 6.5-mile, eight-station segment in Bellevue and Redmond, Wash., on April 27, the agency announced Thursday. The first portion of the 2 Line — which eventually will span 14 miles and 10 stations, connecting with the original […]
SACRAMENTO — A California state senator is introducing a bill to address projects to prevent interruptions to passenger rail service on the LOSSAN Rail Corridor between San Luis Obispo and San Diego, such as the current slide near San Clemente, Calif., that has disrupted Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink commuter rail service. The San Diego […]
SACRAMENTO — California’s Department of Transportation, Caltrans, announced a $127 million agreement with Stadler Rail on Wednesday to purchase six more hydrogen-powered passenger trainsets, bringing to 10 the number of the trainsets on order for use in the San Joaquin Valley. The funding comes $407 million for the California State Transportation agency to purchase or […]
WASHINGTON — Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin Oberman was so disappointed in the lack of information provided at Wednesday’s board hearing into the status of Amtrak Gulf Coast service that he ordered the parties to come back in 30 days with a detailed report to address the board’s unanswered questions. “I’ve negotiated a lot of […]
PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Tickets will go on sale today (Feb. 15) at 9 a.m. ET for Reading & Northern Railroad’s three summer 2024 Iron Horse Rambles excursions featuring T-1 class 4-8-4 No. 2102. Two of the excursions will feature new destinations for the former Reading Co. locomotive, while the other will once again see […]
I’ve never been in the market for a private railroad car — editors and writers rarely ascend to that rarified air — but if I was, I’d compose an email this very moment and send it to the equipment broker Ozark Mountain Railcar, there to bid on what might be the ultimate PV: heavyweight sleeper-observation […]
HARTFORD, Conn. — Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year would restore full funding for Metro-North’s New Haven Line commuter operations, the news site CT Insider reports. The budget proposal released last week includes $284 million for rail operations, an increase of approximately 22% over the current fiscal year, which saw cuts to […]
DENVER — Amtrak and BNSF Railway have sued the driver of a semi-truck of milk, as well as the truck’s owner, over the Jan. 29 grade-crossing collision that derailed the eastbound California Zephyr near Keenesburg, Colo. The suit, filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, says Dairy Farmers of […]
WASHINGTON — In the latest step in its ongoing investigation into on-time performance for Amtrak’s Sunset Limited, the Surface Transportation Board has asked the passenger operator and the train’s host railroads to answer a series of detailed questions on delays encountered during specific runs by the train and other operational details along the train’s route. […]
