Del Mar fairgrounds votes to oppose rail tunnel proposal

Map of potential rail tunnels in Del Mar, Calif.

DEL MAR, Calif. — The organization that oversees the Del Mar Fairgrounds on Monday formalized its opposition to a proposal to build a rail tunnel beneath the fairgrounds, saying the plan could end a proposal to build affordable housing on the property. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the 22nd District Agricultural Association board voted unanimously […]

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Pacific Harbor Line, BLET extend labor agreement

Two trains work with container lifts for ships in distance

WILMINGTON, Calif. — Pacific Harbor Line and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineer and Trainmen, Division 214, have ratified a three-year extension to their current labor agreement, extending that contract through Sept. 20, 2027. The extension covers 145 of PHL’s 180 employees. It was ratified July 12 by a record number of eligible BLET members, with […]

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News photos: Big Boy on the road in Nevada and California

Steam locomotive and short train in desert passing below camera location. Elrond Lawrence photo

ROSEVILLE, Calif. — Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 has reached the westernmost point of its current tour, beginning the first of two days of public display today in Roseville. Information on the display is available here. Here are a few images catching up on recent days of the “Westward Bound” tour, with Elrond Lawrence […]

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STB postpones start of new dispatching plan for Alameda Corridor

Map of relatively straight rail line leading to ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has postponed the start of a plan by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific to contract out dispatching of Southern California’s Alameda Corridor. In a decision announced Thursday, the board postponed the move — which was to be effective today (Friday, July 12) — “to provide sufficient time for evaluation […]

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Port of Los Angeles completes Pier 400 rail expansion project

Aerial view of on-dock rail yard with five unoccupied tracks in foreground

  LOS ANGELES — The Port of Los Angeles has announced completion of the Pier 400 rail expansion, a $73 million program to expand the on-dock yard at the container terminal operated by APM Terminals. The project added five new storage tracks totaling 31,000 linear feet, new crossovers and turnouts, a concrete rail bridge with […]

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Metrolink set for significant service expansion this fall

Commuter train arrives at station

LOS ANGELES — Metrolink plans to offer expanded service this fall as part of its efforts to move from commuter-oriented service to a “regional rail” concept, KTLA-TV reports. The agency has also hired a new “Chief People Officer,” Metrolink announced Monday. Systemwide, the plan calls for about a 30% increase in service under the fiscal […]

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Five train layouts you can visit this summer

Large model train layout with full-scale red caboose in the background

Planning your travel for this summer? Be sure to include some model trains in those plans! These five train layouts throughout the country (and world) are all worth a visit this summer. Colorado Model Railroad Museum Featuring more than 500 HO scale locomotives, 80 scale miles of track, and tens of thousands of handmade trees, […]

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Hydrogen trainset arrives in San Bernardino, Calif.

Passenger train next to ornate Spanish-style station at night

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — More than 20 months after it was unveiled in Berlin and nine months after its U.S. debut, the first Stadler hydrogen-fuel-cell powered FLIRT H2 trainset has arrived in San Bernardino, where it will operate on Southern California’s Arrow commuter rail line. The first-of-its-kind trainset arrived on June 21, after leaving Pueblo, […]

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