Nine rail projects included in Mega, INFRA grant awards

a train on a bridge

WASHINGTON — Nine rail-related projects were included among the 37 receiving funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation through Mega Grant and INFRA Grant program funding announced on Friday. Two projects — including one from the rail-related group — received grants under both programs. The Mega Grant program — formally the National Infrastructure Projecg Assistance […]

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Maya Train will not meet Feb. 29 target for completion

Three trains at station

CANCÚN, Mexico — The launch of Mexico’s tourist-oriented Maya Train on the Yucatán Peninsula continues to run into problems, the latest being that the last portion of the looping 950-mile route will not be complete by the end of February, as President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had previously said. López Obrador — the project’s primary […]

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Blue flags save lives

A blue sign reading stop, men at work, is clamped to a rail in a weedy railroad yard

We’ve all seen blue flags. A sign with words “STOP MEN AT WORK” clamped to the head of a rail, or hanging from the side of a locomotive. It was placed there by a railroader working in the area, and the rules of its use are strict and unbending. A blue flag, is defined by […]

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NJ Transit cancels power plant, reallocates funds to other projects

NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit has cancelled a controversial natural-gas power plant designed in part to provide emergency power for rail lines, saying the project is “not financially feasible,” and will reallocate federal grant funds to other projects, the transit agency announced on Friday. The TransitGrid Microgrid Central Facility in Kearny, N.J., would have generated […]

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NASA awards contract for FRA, FAA safety reporting systems

Logo of National Aeronautics and Space Administration

WASHINGTON — NASA on Friday awarded a contract to Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. of McLean,Va., for maintenance and operation of incident-reporting programs the space agency runs for other federal organizations, including the Federal Railroad Administration’s Confidential Close Call Reporting System. The contact also covers the Aviation Safety Reporting System for the Federal Aviation Administration. Both […]

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Slide activity again halts Amtrak Cascades service (updated)

White locomotive with green and brown trim on passenger train

SEATTLE — For the second consecutive weekend, Amtrak Cascades service has been disrupted between Portland and Seattle because of a landslide. According to an Amtrak service advisory, all Cascade trains are cancelled today (Saturday, Jan. 27) and Sunday, Jan. 28, between Seattle and Portland with alternate transportation (buses) provided. Coast Starlight trains with originate or […]

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Biden to nominate Fuchs for second term on STB

Man speaking at podium

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will nominate Patrick J. Fuchs to serve another term on the Surface Transportation Board, the White House announced this week. Fuchs joined the board in January 2019. Previously, he was a staff member for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, where he worked on legislation including 2016’s first […]

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Tri-Rail increases MiamiCentral shuttles

Train with blue locomotive at station

MIAMI — Beginning this Saturday, Jan. 27, South Florida’s West Palm Beach-Miami International Airport Tri-Rail service will be connected to downtown Miami with 13 weekday round-trip shuttle trains and 12 round trips on the weekends. Since the service’s Jan. 13 launch, the commuter authority has been gradually ramping up service to Brightline’s MiamiCentral facility [see […]

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Conway Scenic Railroad forges cruise-ship partnerships

Passenger train led by yellow locomotive in mountains with vibrant fall foliage

NORTH CONWAY, N.H. – Cruise-ship passengers will soon be riding Conway Scenic Railroad’s trains over its Mountain Division through picturesque Crawford Notch in New Hampshire’s 6,000-foot-high White Mountains. Service is expected to begin in June. The railroad will offer ship patrons another option for shore excursions when they debark at Portland, Maine, a popular port […]

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