WASHINGTON — The first meeting of the Surface Transportation Board’s Passenger Rail Advisory Committee has been set for Oct. 16 at 10 a.m. at STB headquarters in Washington, the agency has announced. The 21 members of the board — selected from more than 90 applicants — include representatives of Amtrak, commuter rail agencies, state agencies, […]
NEW YORK — The Federal Transit Administration this week issued a special directive ordering the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to address “an escalating pattern of safety incidents” regarding workers in the New York subway system, citing 38 near-miss incidents in 2023 in addition to a worker fatality in November 2023 and an incident involving a serious […]
MIAMI — Recent ridership and revenue trends reveal that Brightline’s South Florida operation has settled into a consistent month-to-month pattern, with full-route travelers occupying seats vacated by West Palm Beach-Miami clientele at substantially higher prices. The information is contained in the recently released Florida Development Corp. “Preliminary Limited Remarketing Memorandum” announcing the availability of $985 […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has ordered Union Pacific and Metra to enter mediation over their inability to reach financial terms on some aspects of a contract to continue commuter train service on three Metra routes using Union Pacific lines. In a decision issued Wednesday, Aug. 14, the board by a 4-0 vote granted […]
MONTREAL — Canada’s labor minister has denied Canadian National’s request to intervene in contract talks with the union representing engineers and conductors. Last week CN asked Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon to send stalled contract negotiations to binding arbitration in order to prevent a work stoppage that would halt rail traffic in Canada beginning at 12:01 […]
MADISON, Wis. — The Center for Railroad Photography & Art will receive the Kalmbach Media art collection, a total of 58 original paintings spanning the company’s history since its founding by A.C. Kalmbach in 1934. CRP&A Executive Director Scott Lothes announced the acquisition today after working closely with Kalmbach executives to find a permanent home […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board will hear from more than three dozen participants during its two-day hearing next month regarding recent trends and strategies for growth in freight railroad traffic. The hearing, set to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 16 and 17 in the board’s hearing room, will be livestreamed on the STB’s […]
TRENTON, N.J. — NJ Transit will observe a “fare holiday” Aug. 26 to Sept. 2, offering free rides on all modes across its network, Gov. Phil Murphy announced today (Thursday, Aug. 15). The move is described as a “thank you” to riders for their continued patronage, particularly in light of ongoing service issues. NJ Transit […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority on Wednesday exercised an option to purchase 41 bilevel commuter railcars from Hyundai Rotem, adding to an earlier order for 83 of the cars. “As we continue to see a strong return of our ridership on commuter rail, investing in our rolling stock allows us to not only […]
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation double-stack service to the Midwest will benefit from the newly expanded central rail yard at the Port of Virginia. The port recently the expanded yard is fully operational, lifting annual rail capacity to 2 million twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs. “Modernizing and expanding the capability at NIT’s […]
WASHINGTON — The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association has appointed Nicole Brewin as vice president of congressional affairs. Brewin will be leading the congressional affairs team at Washington-based ASLRRA, which represents 600 short-line and regional railroads, organizing legislative support for issues facing the industry, including investment in infrastructure, and surface transportation and tax policy. […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic was up 5.2% over the same week in 2023, according to the latest statistics from the Association of American Railroads. For the week ending Aug. 10, 2024, U.S. railroads moved 496,509 carloads and intermodal units. That included 222,039 carloads, down 0.9% compared to the corresponding week a year ago, and […]
