Amtrak may be planning to combine Capitol Limited and Silver Star: Analysis (updated)

WASHINGTON — Circumstantial evidence gleaned from Amtrak’s booking site portends mid-November changes to the operation of the Chicago-Washington, D.C. Capitol Limited and the New York-Miami Silver Star. A Trains News Wire review of ticketing availabilities on the two trains indicates tentative plans to combine their operation as a single-level Chicago-Miami train. Doing so would allow […]

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Brightline to offer Taylor Swift sing-along trains

Train crossing bridge

ORLANDO, Fla. — A lot of companies could take lessons on promotions from the people at Brightline. Last month, the company built a promotion around a poll showing that 59% of Floridians would prefer to find an alligator in their pool than get stuck in traffic on a family trip. In response, it offered 40% […]

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Norfolk Southern leads railroads in growth during second quarter

Black locomotive with train of trailers in the Midwest

Class I railroads’ volume trends in the second quarter varied considerably, with Norfolk Southern traffic up 5.1% and Canadian Pacific Kansas City down 4.2%, according to the railroads’ Association of American Railroads carload reports. Norfolk Southern’s volume was boosted by 8.2% year-over-year growth in intermodal traffic. Its carload volume, less coal, was up 1.7%. Coal […]

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Union Pacific worker killed in Proviso Yard (updated)

National Transportation Safety Board logo

MELROSE PARK, Ill. — The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the death of a Union Pacific railroader who was fatally injured in Proviso Yard over the weekend. WFLD-TV reports that the worker has been identified by the Cook County coroner as 27-year-old Justin Pender. “Preliminary information indicates on July 6, at approximately 1:59 a.m. […]

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Rail labor opposes Amtrak request for waiver to deal with ‘loss of shunt’ until testing data is shared (updated)

Passenger train next to signal bungalow and signal worker's truck.

WASHINGTON — Three labor organizations have opposed Amtrak’s request for a waiver allowing installation of a device the company claims will prevent incidents where trains fail to trigger track circuits. As a result, a decades-old issue that recently has forced Amtrak to assign at least seven Superliners to trains operated over Canadian National’s Chicago-Carbondale, Ill., […]

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U.S. rail traffic again shows gains in June

WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic showed a 3.8% gain in June over the same month in 2023, the fifth straight month of increased volume, according to data from the Association of American Railroads. Weekly traffic, for the week ending June 29, showed a 3.9% gain compared to the corresponding week a year ago. The monthly […]

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MBTA completes agreements with all 28 of its unions

Worker welding in subway tunnel

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has completed agreements with all 28 of its labor unions, an accomplishment covering 16 collective bargaining agreements, the agency announced today (Wednesday, July 3). The agency says this is the first time in 15 years it has had agreements in place with all its unions, and — with […]

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