Action may be required on your Trains.com account in order to continue accessing content. Click here to learn more.
MONTREAL — The builder of Montreal’s light rail system says it will take measures to reduce operating noise following complaints from residents along the yet-to-open line. CTV News reports that CDPQ Infra, contractor for the Réseau express métropolitain system, says it will install noise barriers and “sound absorbers” along the tracks, as well as grinding […]
The dockworker strike at Western Canadian ports has dragged into its sixth day today (Thursday, July 6), putting a dent in Canadian rail traffic. Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City have both issued embargoes for certain types of freight moving to Vancouver and, in the case of CN, Prince Rupert, British Columbia. “CPKC is […]
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators have set a procedural schedule for handling Navajo Transitional Energy Co.’s common carrier complaint against BNSF Railway. The Surface Transportation Board last month issued a preliminary injunction that ordered BNSF to handle a minimum of 4.2 million tons of coal from NTEC’s Spring Creek mine in Montana to export at the […]
ROCKFORD, Ill. — With an 1880s bridge over the Rock River supporting a Metra train as a backdrop, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and other officials announced Thursday that Chicago commuter operator Metra had been selected to partner with Union Pacific to provide two daily rail roundtrips between Rockford and Chicago by 2027. The estimated $275 […]
REESEVILLE, Wis. — CPKC tracks have reopened through the site of Tuesday’s derailment in Reeseville, with Amtrak’s Empire Builder returning to its normal route as of Wednesday evening. Plans had been for the westbound Builder to hold in Milwaukee until the derailment site on CPKC’s Watertown Subdivision reopened. But the train, which arrived in Milwaukee […]
NEW YORK — Amtrak service was restored between New York and Philadelphia by 10 a.m. EDT after overhead power issues at the Metropark station in Woodbridge, N.J., according to the Amtrak website. The problem was initially reported about 8 a.m. ET. At least some trains were cancelled as a result of the issue, according to […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration is demanding immediate changes to Norfolk Southern’s conductor trainee program, citing “grave deficiencies” that have been marked by incidents resulting in “amputations and other serious injuries.” In a June 14 letter, Allison Ishihara Fultz, FRA’s chief counsel, wrote that despite nearly two years of FRA working with NS to […]
PORT-DANIEL-GASCONS, Quebec — The Canadian government will provide more than C$10 million in funding for a rail infrastructure project protecting a coastal railway on Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula, according to a Tuesday announcement. The project at Port-Daniel-Gascons will include installation of a retaining wall to prevent further erosion of cliffs along the coastline, repair of tracks […]
CHICAGO — Passenger rail continues to be left out of travel discussions, in part because Amtrak lacks equipment to handle everyday cross-country demand, not to mention potential traffic surges triggered by holidays flights grounded by bad weather. Meanwhile, revisions to Amtrak’s reservation system make it harder for travelers seeking sleeping car rooms to make informed […]
In recent months, I have dug deep into the archives to find the shortest Amtrak trains of each decade. Since most of us modelers have limited layout space, if we still want to model prototypical passenger consists, these short trains are a perfect fit. Join me on a tour of Amtrak eras, this time exploring […]
ABOARD THE SILVER STAR — The announcement Amtrak is extending chef-prepared meals and table service for sleeping-car passengers to another New York-Miami train [see “Amtrak returns ‘traditional dining’ to Silver Meteor,” Trains News Wire, June 27, 2023] came a few days after News Wire had a chance to sample that service on the northbound Silver […]
Trucks in Germany are now paying higher tolls to use main highways, with the extra money to be invested in the country’s government-owned rail network. The new tolls were effective July 1. The new funds will address a rail system that is suffering in places from a high level of use by both passenger and […]
