Amtrak sued over fatal onboard shooting

Amtrak logo.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The family of a man shot and killed aboard an Amtrak train is suing the passenger railroad and the suspect in the killing for at least $100 million, the Kansas City Star reports. Richie Terell Aaron Jr., 30, was shot aboard the Missouri River Runner on Jan. 14, 2022. His family […]

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Nine hurt in vehicle-light rail accident in East St. Louis, Ill.

Logo of St. Louis Metro and MetroLink

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — Nine people were injured, two critically, in a collision between a St. Louis MetroLink train and a vehicle near the Washington Park station on Sunday afternoon. The driver of the vehicle and one person on the train were in critical condition, the Belleville News-Democrat reported. The car caught fire after […]

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Scout plans train meet as fundraiser for club

GFW Trainfair flyer

A northern Illinois model railroader is using his – and others – love of the hobby as a Boy Scout project to raise funds for a large-scale railroad group to expand its facilities. George Werderich, who appears on the toy-train oriented GFW Trains Channel on YouTube, is organizing GFW Trainfair as a community service project […]

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Adventures of a railroad station agent

Orange and red diesel locomotives

I’d been hired as second-shift railroad station agent at Channing, Mich., for the Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad in June 1980. The railroad had taken over operation of the Milwaukee Road’s lines north of Green Bay, Wis., three months earlier. I was 23 years old and had no qualifications for the job, other than I […]

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Metra to add trains on BNSF line

Overhead view of commuter train

CHICAGO — Metra will make major changes to the weekday schedule on the BNSF line, historically its most-used route, with a net increase from 86 to 91 trains as the route moves closer to its pre-pandemic level. The new schedule, effective March 28, will include four new trains, restoration of three trains dropped in November […]

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Scout plans train meet as fundraiser for club

GFW Trainfest flyer

A northern Illinois model railroader is using his – and others – love of the hobby as a Boy Scout project to raise funds for a large-scale railroad group to expand its facilities. George Werderich, who appears on the toy-train oriented GFW Trains Channel on YouTube, is organizing GFW Trainfest as a community service project […]

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Metra opposes CP-KCS merger in regulatory filing

Passenger train passing wooden passenger station

WASHINGTON — Chicago-area commuter rail operator Metra has come out against the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, telling the Surface Transportation board in a 946-page filing that the merger would bring delays, prevent expansion of service, raise safety issues, and increase Metra’s infrastructure costs. The communter operator also says its traffic modeling indicates the operating […]

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On Chicago’s ‘L’

Chicago, Aurora and Elgin Railroad

A four-car Chicago Aurora & Elgin train heads away from the Loop as a Chicago Rapid Transit train heads inbound. Below the train are the south platforms of Chicago Union Station. Don Sims photo […]

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Michigan court reinstates case of youth struck by train

WYANDOTTE, Mich. — The Michigan Court of Appeals has reinstated a lawsuit against the Grand Trunk Western Railroad involving a teen who was struck by a train in 2012. The Associated Press reports Jacob Marion, who was 14 at the time, was stuck by a train and severely injured while walking down the tracks while […]

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