LOMBARD, Ill. — Notes from Day 1 of the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers Winter Meeting: Border battle Union Pacific found itself involved in headlines not of its own making in December when U.S. Customs and Border Protection shut down border rail gateways at Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, quickly throwing U.S-Mexico rail traffic […]
Positive Train Control With Positive Train Control (PTC) fully implemented on a large majority of the nation’s Class Is, passenger, and commuter lines, many short lines and regional railroads have had to comply with the new rules when they operate over another’s PTC-equipped lines. This includes smaller railroads that serve customers on another railroad’s tracks, […]
BROOKLYN — The New York City subway system has experienced its second derailment in a week, as a Manhattan-bound train derailed on an elevated portion of the F line in Coney Island this afternoon (Wednesday, Jan. 10). The incident occurred about 12:25 p.m. between stations near Neptune Avenue and West 6th Street. The Fire Department […]
LOMBARD, Ill. — The theme may not be new, but the emphasis seems to be increasing. The idea that railroads need to work together — and that doing so can be beneficial to all parties, not just the railroads involved, but their customers as well — was a recurring topic during the first day of […]
WASHINGTON – U.S. weekly rail traffic was up 2.3% compared with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads reported today. For the week ending Jan. 6, U.S. railroads originated 208,176 carloads, up 0.9% compared with the same week in 2023, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 209,081 containers and trailers, up 3.7% […]
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday called for the start of engineering work on the Interborough Express light rail line, as well as further extension of the Second Avenue Subway project, as part of the annual State of the State address. Other transit-related aspects of the address included new measures to […]
WASHINGTON — As the next mix of high winds, rain, and snow moved up the East Coast, Amtrak cancelled frequencies for trains departing late today (Tuesday, Jan. 9) and early Wednesday but managed to preserve some service on all Northeast routes. This was the same scenario the company used earlier in the week when some […]
Private cars Private cars also called private varnish is a side of railroading that is a mystery to many. Imagine being trackside one day and seeing a historic passenger car attached to an Amtrak train. Who’s in that car? Where are they going? How are they able to do that? What does it cost? These […]
RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia legislator is re-introducing regulations that would require two-person crews, cap train lengths, and limit the amount of time trains could block grade crossings in the commonwealth’s House of Delegates. HB385 is sponsored by Delegate Shelly A. Simonds (D-Newport News). It will formally be introduced on Wednesday, Jan. 10. It would […]
SEATTLE — Sound Transit’s board will consider appointment of Goran Sparrman as interim CEO of the agency at a special meeting this Thursday, Jan. 11, the agency has announced. Sparrman, who would be appointed for one year, currently works for infrastructure consultant HNTB and has twice served as acting director of the Seattle Department of […]
Discounts have been announced on regional corridors throughout the U.S. for winter coach-class rail travel. As expected, there are restrictions, and in certain cases booking codes need to be input to take advantage of lower fares. Such discounts help establish a ridership base on departures where demand is light, allowing carriers to raise prices as […]
CUMBERLAND, Md. — Western Maryland Scenic Railroad has launched a fundraising campaign to return both its steam locomotives — 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 and 2-8-0 No. 734 — to operation, with No. 1309 newly sidelined after the discovery it needs its pistons and rods replaced. The former Cheaspeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 has been the heritage railroad’s […]
