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WASHINGTON — The Senate Commerce Committee has scheduled a hearing on nominees for Federal Railroad Administration administrator and the last remaining open seat on Amtrak’s board of directors. The hearing for FRA nominee David Fink, Amtrak nominee Robert Gleason, and two other officials — David Fogael, assistant secretary of commerce, and Pierre Gentin, general counsel […]
The Fertilizer Route, more formally The Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad, featured 75 years ago in Trains Magazine was, in a word, “astonishing.” For a railroad that almost nobody has ever heard of beyond its own neighborhood, the 27-mile Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad is an astonishing property. It has only eight stockholders, […]
WASHINGTON — Details have yet to emerge regarding how much money the Trump Administration and Congress might be willing to appropriate for Amtrak in Fiscal 2026, beginning on Oct. 1, 2025. Amtrak is not mentioned in the $163 billion of “non-defense discretionary spending” budget cuts in the spending plan released today (May 2, 2025) — […]
Thirty-seven years ago, Montana businessman Dennis Washington entered into a 60-year lease with Burlington Northern for nearly 1,000 miles of ex-Northern Pacific Railway trackage and launched the Montana Rail Link. The newly created Class II regional stretched from Spokane, Wash., across southern Montana to Huntley, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it community not far from Billings, Mont. The railroad […]
Despite mounting uncertainty over tariffs, trade policy, and the economy, most major railroads held firm on their 2025 outlooks — contrasting with a wave of guidance cuts across other industries. Among the five publicly traded Class I railroads, Canadian National, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific kept their guidance intact, while Canadian Pacific Kansas City and […]
The rapid expansion of America’s railroad system in the 1800s and early 1900s was driven largely by a small group of powerful businessmen. Here we profile 12 of the most influential railroad magnates who helped shape modern America. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the men on this list built railroad empires connecting cities, opening the […]
WASHINGTON — Short line holding company Regional Rail is acquiring the Minnesota Commercial Railway, which operates 86 miles of trackage around the Twin Cities. “The transaction will promote Regional Rail’s strategic and growth objectives, and help sustain MNNR’s efficiency, financial strength, and ability to meet the needs of shippers,” Regional Rail said in a regulatory […]
When the opportunity arose for Lauren Osier to begin her rail preservation journey at the 3-foot gauged Midwest Central Railroad in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, it became the journey of a lifetime for the now 25-year-old. She has taken on multiple volunteer opportunities at the railroad, ranging from social media marketer to engine crew; met her […]
CORINTH, N.Y. — The Saratoga Corinth & Hudson Railway, the heritage railway located on the former Delaware & Hudson Adirondack Branch, has added a third Alco RS3 with the arrival this week of No. 4085, a former D&H diesel long stored in Port Jervis, N.Y. The Delaware & Hudson Railway Historical Society announced the acquisition […]
EL PASO, Texas — Fort Bliss, the 1,700-square-mile Army post in Texas and New Mexico, is undergoing an expansion of its rail capacity. The El Paso Times reports that groundbreaking was held April 22 for construction of 4.3 additional miles of track at its rail yard, built to accommodate 565 railcars in 72 hours — […]
STOCKTON, Calif. — Stacey Mortensen, executive director of the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission, will step down from her position on Aug. 31 after 27 years, the commission has announced. The commission oversees the Altamont Corridor Express commuter rail operation and manages the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority, which oversees Amtrak’s San Joaquins service. “I […]
NEW YORK — Subway crews and New York City Transit need to better communicate with passengers to address instances of risky “self-evacuation” by passengers during delays, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Inspector General Daniel Cort said in a report issued on Thursday (May 1, 2025). An investigation by the Office of the Inspector General found 46 […]
