CN asks regulators to resolve CP interchange dispute in Chicago

Black, gray, and yellow locomotives lined up in yard

WASHINGTON — The Canadian National-Canadian Pacific Chicago interchange dispute is back before the Surface Transportation Board. At issue: Whether CP should pick up the tab for Belt Railway of Chicago switching fees for CN-bound traffic interchanged at BRC’s Clearing Yard. The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in December vacated an October 2020 STB decision […]

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Storm brings more Amtrak cancellations Thursday, Friday

Train approaching in snowstorm

Amtrak has added to its previously announced list of storm-related cancellations for today (Thursday, Feb. 3; see “Winter storm brings cancellations …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 2, 2022), while also modifying schedules for trains in New England today and Friday and adding one Friday cancellation in the Midwes Added to the previously list of cancellations […]

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First look: Siemens Venture coaches debut for Amtrak (updated)

Conductor waves as he boards passenger car at platform

CHICAGO — “Give yourself a big round of applause,” conductor Erik Newsom enthusiastically announced over the public address system of Amtrak train No. 303 as it left Chicago for St. Louis on Tuesday morning. “You’re the very first to ride Amtrak’s new Midwest cars!” Clapping followed, but that was the extent of the morning’s fanfare […]

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Winter storm brings cancellations to Amtrak service in Midwest

Amtrak logo.

WASHINGTON — Amtrak has announced a new series of cancellations because of a winter storm, this time for today (Wednesday, Feb. 2) and Thursday, Feb. 3, on Midwest state-supported routes and some long-distance trains beginning or ending in Chicago. Trains affected today include City of New Orleans departures from Chicago and New Orleans; the westbound […]

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Metra to receive $500 million American Rescue Plan grant

Metra logo

WASHINGTON – Chicago’s Metra will receive  a $513.6 million from the American Rescue Plan fund, announced U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. The funds will help the commuter agency maintain service and keep workers on the payroll as it continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. “Public transportation has helped people reach their jobs […]

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News photo: First revenue run for new Amtrak cars

Passenger train rounds curve

JOLIET, Ill. — More than a year after making their first test runs, the Siemens Venture equipment built for state-supported Amtrak service in the Midwest made their first revenue trip Tuesday morning on Lincoln Service train No. 303 from Chicago to St. Louis. The equipment is scheduled to return this evening on train No. 306, […]

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News photo: South Shore station falls in Michigan City

Commuter train running down middle of the street past fenced-off lot

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — The landmark but long-closed South Shore Line station on 11th Street in downtown Michigan City has been torn down, a casualty of the ongoing project to double-track the line between Gary, Ind., and Michigan City. That project will also see the end of the current street running in Michigan City. The […]

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Remembering Norfolk & Western Railway locomotives

Men polishing streamlined steam locomotive

Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history, heritage, and style of the Norfolk & Western Railway all through January 2022. So, please enjoy this photo gallery of Norfolk & Western locomotives selected from the archives of Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. Norfolk & Western locomotives served in the coal fields and later on high-speed freight […]

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Amtrak cuts Northeast service in advance of winter storm

Passenger train in snow

WASHINGTON — With a major winter storm predicted, Amtrak has cancelled all service on Saturday, Jan. 29, between New York and Boston, as well as all New Haven-Springfield, Mass., shuttles and the Vermonter. Forecasts call for up to 2 feet of snowfall for the Boston area and lesser but uncertain amounts further south through Rhode […]

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Legislators want investigation of Minnesota light rail project

Map of light rail project connecting Minneapolis to Eden Prairie, Minn.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — With one senator calling the project “a boondoggle of historic proportions,” a bipartisan group of Minnesota state legislators is calling for an audit of a light rail project that has soared in cost and is now projected to open four years late. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports the legislators are calling […]

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