NASHVILLE — Music City Star riders may miss a Friday evening ride after today — all because of positive train control. The Regional Transportation Authority’s board of directors recently announced a new Music City Star schedule recently that eliminates a Friday evening round trip between Nashville and Lebanon, Tenn. The schedule also modifies arrival and […]
Section: News & Reviews
Strasburg names new leaders NEWSWIRE

Craig Lefever SRR Rick Musser SRR STRASBURG, Pa. — The Board of Directors of Strasburg Rail Road, America’s oldest short line railroad and one of Pennsylvania’s leading tourist attractions, announce Craig Lefever as its newest President and Rick Musser, Jr., to the position of Chief Mechanical Officer. The two positions were previously held by Linn […]
Top stories of 2018: NOT QUITE TOP STORIES NEWSWIRE

President Donald Trump The White House When Trains editors look at the Top 10 stories of the year, it’s always a close call on which stories make it and which do not. Here are the stories that came close, but didn’t quite make the Top Ten cut for 2018. California High Speed Rail: Seemingly on […]
Trains top stories for 2018: No. 1, Richard Anderson

WASHINGTON — A signature event early in Amtrak President and CEO Richard Anderson’s tenure speaks volumes about the tone he has set in leading the organization the Amtrak Board of Directors hired him to run. Private railcar owner Bennett Levin had arranged a special farewell at his own expense to mark the retirement of Billie […]
Amtrak workers learn terms of severance, relocation deals NEWSWIRE

Amtrak’s call center in Riverside, Calif., is scheduled to close Jan. 18. David Croteau RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Workers at Amtrak’s soon-to-close Riverside reservation call center are being offered a $15,000 relocation allowance or a one-time severance payment of $10,000, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports. Workers learned the terms of the agreement at a Wednesday meeting, after […]
Dashcam captures near-miss at malfunctioning crossing gates NEWSWIRE
Video via Facebook CHICAGO — Dramatic dashcam video captured a near-miss in November between a Metra commuter train and as many as three vehicles at a suburban Chicago crossing where the warning lights and gates had malfunctioned. The video, taken from a police squad car, shows the vehicle just about to enter the crossing […]
GO Transit adds to Kitchener service NEWSWIRE

TORONTO — GO Transit is expanding service between Kitchener, Ontario, and Toronto, adding an additional round trip as of Jan. 7. The additional trains — a morning train departing Kitchener at Kitchener at 5:40 p.m. and a return trip departing Toronto at 3:35 p.m. — increase daily service to five round trips. The Ontario government […]
‘Leviathan’ to play role of Lincoln Funeral Train locomotive

Leviathan will get a new role in Pennsylvania this spring. Trains: Jim Wrinn ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. — Good bye Central Pacific No. 63, Leviathan! Hello Pennsylvania Railroad No. 331. The operating 4-4-0 replica of one of the locomotives in the first transcontinental railroad 150 years ago is being redecorated to represent the PRR engine that pulled […]
New Mexico Rail Runner to offer free rides for seniors NEWSWIRE

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The New Mexico Rail Runner commuter train will begin offering free rides for seniors (ages 62 and up) on Wednesdays as of Jan. 2, 2019. The program is good for all Wednesdays in 2019. Riders need only show a valid photo ID with a birth date to qualify. Visit the Rail Runner […]
Trains top stories for 2018: No. 2, Precision Scheduled Railroading NEWSWIRE

A Union Pacific train crosses underneath a positive train control-equipped signal bridge on BNSF Railway tracks in Cajon Pass, Calif., in 2013. TRAINS: Steve Sweeney A year ago, three of the Class I railroad systems — Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, and CSX Transportation — were operating under the late E. Hunter Harrison’s Precision Scheduled Railroading […]
Washington Post: Koreas re-link by rail NEWSWIRE

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 […]
Amtrak, union reach agreement on relocation, severance for call center workers NEWSWIRE

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 […]