WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will nominate former Federal Railroad Admininstration Administrator Ron Batory and Elaine Marie Clegg, CEO of Valley Regional Transit in Idaho’s Ada and Canyon counties, to serve on Amtrak’s Board of Directors, the White House announced today (May 2). Batory, now a resident of New Mexico, and Clegg, of Boise, Idaho, […]
CHICAGO — Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman on Wednesday blasted activist investor Ancora Holdings, saying that its plans for Norfolk Southern are a threat to rail service and the U.S. economy. Ancora and NS are trying to woo the railroad’s shareholders in a bitter proxy battle that will end May 9 at the […]
MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — Anacostia Holdings short line Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad ran a rare 1-car passenger special train Wednesday, May 1, between its shops in Michigan City and Olive, a location approximately 10 miles from South Bend. The move with GP38-2 No. 2009, complete with white flags, and private car Montana […]
CHICAGO — Imagine if the two Class I railroad steam stars of this year — Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 No. 2816 and Union Pacific Big Boy 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 — showed up at the same place at the same time and shared the same stage. It just might happen one day. Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has eliminated all speed restrictions from the rapid-transit Blue Line as a result of a maintenance shutdown that concluded on Tuesday, April 30, the agency announced Wednesday. A total of 19 speed restrictions were eliminated over a 5-mile stretch of the Blue Line during work that began April […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Gulf & Atlantic Railways has changed its name to Pinsley Railroad Co. following its October 2023 acquisition of Pioneer Valley Railroad, the last Pinsly-owned short line. The company announced it was adopting the name of the second-oldest shortline holding company in North America, dating to 1938, on Wednesday, May 1. “It is […]
WASHINGTON — Overall U.S. rail traffic was up 1.2% in April, the third straight month of gains compared to 2023, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. Traffic for the week ending April 27 was also up, marking the 14th straight week traffic exceeded levels of a year earlier. April’s figures included a […]
PYOTE, Texas — About 20 cars of a Union Pacific intermodal train derailed today (May 1) near the West Texas community of Pyote, KMID/KPED-TV reports. The Ward County Sheriff’s Office reported it responded about 3 p.m. to a report of a derailment adjacent to Interstate 20. No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials have […]
LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — Amtrak’s Missouri River Runners will resume operation on Thursday, May 2, after four days of cancellations, the company announced this afternoon. Union Pacific informed the passenger operator that it would be able to accommodate the two daily St. Louis-Kansas City round trips as cleanup continued following the Sunday derailment of a […]
LAS VEGAS — Siemens Mobility has been selected as the “preferred bidder” to build the initial trainsets for the Brightline West high speed rail project, Brightline announced today (Wednesday, May 1). Siemens will build 10 “American Pioneer 220” trainsets and receive a 30-year contract for maintenance at a facility in Sloan, Nev., under the agreement. […]
Members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference have authorized strikes against Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the union has announced today (May 1). Some 93.3% of train and engine crews at CN returned ballots, with 97.6% voting in favor of a strike. At CPKC, 91.7% of train and engine crews returned ballots, with […]
CHICAGO — Amtrak will launch a second daily train between Chicago and St. Paul, Minn., the state-sponsored Borealis, on May 21, the passenger operator announced today. The train, using Horizon coaches and a café car, will offer Business Class service. It will substitute for one of the current Hiawatha round trips on the Chicago-Milwaukee portion […]
