North and South Korea Google Maps SEOUL — Observers are skeptical about new train traffic between North and South Korea despite a ceremony with officials from both countries re-joining rails between the countries for the first time in years. The Washington Post reports that a rail joining ceremony Wednesday in Kaesong, North Korea, involved officials […]
A weathered sign marks the location of Amtrak’s reservation call center in Riverside, Calif., slated to close in January. David Croteau RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Amtrak has reached an agreement with the union representing workers at its soon-to-close Riverside call center over severance or relocation packages, the company said in a Friday email to the Riverside […]
OTTAWA — Canada’s Minister of Transport has ordered the nation’s railroads to update their work rules to address crew-fatigue issues. In a Dec. 21 news release, transport minister Marc Gastineau said companies must submit updated rules for review by May 19, 2019, with the government to approve the updated rules by the end of June. […]
A northbound Canadian National stack train passes through Waukesha, Wis., in May 2018. CN announced on Dec. 20 that it has met the Dec. 31 deadline for installation of PTC equipment. TRAINS: David Lassen HOMEWOOD, Ill. — Canadian National has met installation requirements for positive train control equipment and applied for a two-year extension to […]
DALLAS — Dallas Area Rapid Transit has awarded $872 million in contracts to design and build its 26-mile Cotton Belt commuter rail line, the Dallas Morning News reports. The contract was awarded to a joint venture of Archer Western Construction, based in Irving, Texas., and Herzog Contracting, based in Fort Worth. Construction is scheduled to […]
ERIE, Pa. — GE workers are still assembling finished locomotives in Erie. That’s despite a GE promise in 2017 to shift finished assembly and production from Erie to the company’s newest assembly plant near Fort Worth, Texas, by the end of 2018. Those plans are on “pause” for the time-being the representative says. The Erie […]
ALBUQUERQUE — The western steam and narrow gauge preservation communities today are mourning the loss of a long and remarkable fixture in their worlds: Ernie Robart has passed away. Robart was an early advocate for saving the Colorado narrow gauge, and his work ultimately led to the creation of today’s Cumbres & Toltec Scenic. He […]
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern will pay Virginia and the city of Norfolk about $2.4 million as a result of its announced plan to move its headquarters to Atlanta. The Virginian-Pilot reports the funds represent a repayment of incentives the company received as part of a 2016 agreement to keep its headquarters in Norfolk until […]
A string of Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority AEM-7 locomotives at Frazer, Pa., before relocation to Morrisville, Pa., and lease work on NJ Transit. Gary Pancavage PHILADELPHIA — Railfans who’ve yet to see AEM-7 locomotives in the wild will get one more chance to do so in the coming weeks as the last of Philadelphia’s operational […]
Brightline locomotives and trainsets appear at the railroad’s West Palm Beach “b” shops in January. Bob Johnston MIAMI — Could privately owned and operated passenger rail ever succeed in the U.S., given the billions of dollars of public spending lavished annually on competing highway, transit, and air travel transportation modes? If so, what would it […]
PHILADELPHIA – The locomotive engineer at the controls of an Amtrak train that derailed near Philadelphia in 2015 is set to stand trial in September 2019. Eight people died and more than 200 were injured when Amtrak train No. 188 derailment on the Northeast Corridor in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond neighborhood in May 2015. A National […]
DENVER – The Winter Park Express will have a lounge car when it departs Denver for Winter Park, Colo. on Jan. 3. Ever since the weekend ski train began operating in 2016, skiers and snowboarders have been asking Amtrak to sell snacks and beverages onboard the train. This week, Amtrak announced that their wishes would […]
