Mardi Gras service is off to a fast start, Amtrak says

Short passenger train on bridge

NEW ORLEANS – Ridership on Amtrak’s Mardi Gras service — launched in August to link New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. — has exceeded expectations in its first three-plus months of operation along the Gulf Coast. Amtrak on Thursday said that more than 46,000 passengers have ridden the twice-daily roundtrips since the long-awaited service launched using […]

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Primus alleges race played role in his dismissal from the STB

Man in gray suit speaking at podium

WASHINGTON — Former Surface Transportation Board member Robert E. Primus and former National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chair Alvin Brown on Thursday added racial discrimination claims to their federal lawsuits challenging their dismissals by the Trump administration. President Donald Trump fired Brown in May and Primus in August without giving a reason for their dismissals. […]

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Amtrak, VRE adjust schedules for Long Bridge work

Passenger train at station with large number of people boarding

WASHINGTON — Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express have adjusted their schedules to make way for morning work blocks that will be in effect for the next five years between Washington and Alexandria, Va., to permit construction of a second two-track Long Bridge across the Potomac River. After months of negotiations, stakeholders have reached an agreement […]

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NTSB probing death of Union Pacific conductor in grade-crossing incident

National Transportation Safety Board logo

WASHINGTON — A Union Pacific conductor was fatally injured on Wednesday in a grade-crossing accident near Ontario, Calif., the National Transportation Safety Board said today. “NTSB is sending a team to investigate Wednesday’s accident involving a Union Pacific Railroad conductor fatally injured while conducting a reverse movement when the train collided with a combination vehicle […]

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City ends TOYX turntable lease

Small diesel locomotive and boxcar on a turntable. City ends TOYX turntable lease.

PORT JERVIS, N.Y. — Port Jervis is terminating a rail historical society’s lease of the former Erie Railroad turntable site near downtown, a decision that will force the nonprofit group to find a new home for its 27-piece locomotive and rolling stock collection. The 8.67-acre city-owned site was once part of the Erie Railroad’s engine […]

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Young Guns in Preservation: Joseph Costa

Young individual riding in a passenger car

From the Railroad Museum of Long Island to the Black River & Western Railroad and the Oyster Bay Rail Road Museum, Joseph Costa is actively involved in the Northeast’s rail preservation scene. Mentorship from friends and family has been key to keeping the 33-year-old motivated, even while managing his neurodivergent limitations. Costa is determined to […]

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Creel warns UP–NS merger is no ‘fait accompli’

Train with two locomotives and hopper cars on track parallelling street

PALM BEACH, Fla. — Canadian Pacific Kansas City CEO Keith Creel disagrees with Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena’s contention that the UP-Norfolk Southern merger will be a slam dunk in Washington. “I don’t think it’s a fait accompli. I do not,” Creel told an investor conference on Tuesday. “People are grossly underestimating the complexity of […]

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