CARBONDALE, Ill. — For a few hours Thursday, travelers along Illinois’ Chicago-Carbondale Amtrak corridor could book a daytime round trip to next Monday’s solar eclipse “path of totality,” thereby avoiding monumental traffic jams along parallel highways that occurred during a similar event in August 2017. But that window of opportunity closed when seats that briefly […]
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CHICAGO — Metra will make major increases to weekend service on its BNSF Line, adding six trains on Saturdays and 16 on Sundays to create equal schedules for both weekend days. The commuter operator will also make some weekday changes as part of a new schedule effective on Monday, April 29. The new weekend schedule […]
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LYNNWOOD, Wash. — Sound Transit’s next addition to its light rail system — the Lynnwood Link extension of Line 1 — will debut on Aug. 30, the agency announced Thursday. The 8.5-mile addition into Snohomish County will add four stations to the north of the current endpoint of Line 1 at Seattle’s Northgate station. In […]
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WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration on Thursday announced $20.5 billion in federal funding will be available in fiscal 2024 for transit projects. Funding can be used to modernize, maintain, and operate transit systems; upgrade station, track, and maintenance facilities; plan and design new corridors; and prvide access for seniors and riders with disabilities. State-by-state […]
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CHICAGO — With spring having arrived, at least according to the calendar, commuter operator Metra on Wednesday outlined plans for capital projects planned for the 2024 construction season. The Metra budget calls for $332.4 million in projects this fiscal year, including $140.7 million for bridge projects; $81.6 million for station and parking improvements; $66.2 million […]
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BALTIMORE — Amtrak has selected Advance, a joint venture by infrastructure firms AECOM and Jacobs, to manage oversight of design, construction, contract management, administrative support, and other aspects of the $6 billion Frederick Douglass Tunnel project. The project includes replacement of the nearly 150-year old, 1.4-mile B&P tunnel, a major bottleneck on the Northeast Corridor, […]
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STUART, Fla. — Design work and other preparations for the new Florida East Coast/Brightline bridge over the St. Lucie River in Stuart are under way, the TC Palm newspaper reports, while FEC seeks a federal grant to address the $31.5 million grant to address the unfunded portion of the $218 million project. The current Stuart […]
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NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is seeking a developer to serve as master tenant to fill the 25,000 square feet of retail and dining space at Grand Central Madison, the Long Island Railroad Terminal in Manhattan that opened in 2023. “This is an amazing opportunity for the right operator: 25,000 square feet of […]
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MEXICO CITY — A loose clamp on a switch led to the Maya Train derailment at the Tixkokob station on March 25, Mexico’s Secretary of National Defense said during a presidential press conference today. The incident involved the fourth car of a train en route from Campeche to Cancún, which derailed as the train entered […]
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PHILADELPHIA — A truck carrying an oversized load struck a railroad bridge crossing over Interstate 95 on Monday, closing the northbound lanes of the highway indefinitely and shutting down a portion of NJ Transit’s Atlantic City commuter rail service. The Conrail bridge in northeast Philadelphia was hit about 1:30 p.m.; after railroad engineers assessed damage, […]
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The eastbound City of Portland passes the tower at Clinton, Iowa, behind two Chicago & North Western E units at 9:10 a.m. on June 4, 1953. Ahead lies the Mississippi River crossing and the Windy City. Robert R. Malinoski photo […]
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WASHINGTON — The “Quiet Car” has become a staple on most U.S. corridor trains and many commuter operations. The innovation was first suggested in 1999 by an Amtrak volunteer organization later dissolved by CEO Richard Anderson after the former head of Delta Airlines was hired by Amtrak’s board of directors in 2017. Amtrak’s Customer Advisory […]
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