Agreement seeks to develop transportation hub, passenger rail service at Michigan Central station

Map of Michigan Central campus

DETROIT — Michigan Central Station, the long-abandoned rail facility revived last year by Ford Motor Co. as the centerpiece of an innovation district, could see trains again under an agreement announced today (Oct. 15, 2025). The Michigan Department of Transportation, the city of Detroit, and Michigan Central, the company overseeing the innovation district, have agreed […]

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News photos: Amtrak cleans up in Chicago

Passenger cars entering small building

CHICAGO — Amtrak’s Chicago train wash is now active, as evidenced by the cars and locomotive of the company’s New York-Chicago Cardinal, seen here backing into the facility after its run on Monday, Oct. 6. The Cardinal emerged sparkling from its 2-mph splash, though a departing Metra train prevented photos of the result. The trainset […]

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MTA CEO blasts Amtrak for delays on Penn Access project (additional update)

Man speaking at podium

NEW YORK — Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Janno Lieber has blasted Amtrak for a lack of cooperation on the Penn Access infrastructure project, saying the situation is “outrageous, and it’s been a problem from the start of that project.“ Amtrak, which initially called Lieber’s statements “misinformation,” updated its initial statement Tuesday afternoon with details on […]

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Amtrak uses make-up equipment to avoid cancelling Empire Builder

Passenger train with two locomotives passing under signal bridge with Chicago skyline in background

CHICAGO — In a change from recent operations, Amtrak was able to put together a makeup trainset to prevent cancellation of the westbound Empire Builder that departed Chicago on Wednesday, Oct. 1. Significant long-distance train delays have often resulted in cascading cancellations for lack of equipment since Amtrak lost nearly complete Superliner sets to devastating […]

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News photo: Metroliners live on

Cab car with blue and red front passing Amtrak "Windsor Locks station sign

Amtrak push-pull cab control coach No. 9646, in fresh “Phase VII” paint, stops at Windsor Lock, Conn., leading Springfield, Mass.-New Haven train No. 465 on September 28, 2025. Built as Pennsylvania Railroad Metroliner coach No. 813 in 1967, and converted to its current unpowered cab control car configuration during the 1980s, No. 9646 is among […]

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Maintenance responsibilities shift for San Joaquins and Capitol Corridor (revised and updated)

Passenger train with "Fresno, Calif." station sign in foreground

Editor’s note: San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority Interim Director David Lipari provided additional information on Oct. 6, 2025, that corrects and expands upon information that was not available or mischaracterized in the original report. Updated Oct. 7 at 11.45 a.m. OAKLAND, Calif. — Transit America, a subsidiary of Herzog Transit Services, Inc., has been tapped […]

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Amtrak, CN ask STB to extend filing deadline in contract case

Passenger train stops at station

WASHINGTON — Amtrak and Canadian National Railway have asked the Surface Transportation Board to extend the deadline for filings in their long-running dispute over an operating agreement, telling the board they are “actively engaged in discussions aimed at settling this complex and long-standing case.” In a joint filing on Friday, Sept. 26, the two sides […]

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