WASHINGTON — A conductor’s use of an emergency door release to open a car door while her train was operating at 40 mph, and Amtrak’s accepted practice of allowing such doors to be opened to monitor platforms while approaching a station, contributed to the death of the conductor in a January 2022 accident in Westerly, […]
BALTIMORE — Amtrak will begin early construction activity on the B&P Tunnel Replacement Program this Friday, March 10, with tie and rail replacement and track drainage work as part of its preparations for the $6 billion project. “This initial project will directly reduce impacts during later construction phases and maximize the benefits of the new […]
PORTLAND, Maine — Alcohol sales on the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority’s Downeasters will be allowed to continue in New Hampshire while the officials work out a “creative solution” to address a state liquor law, the Associated Press reports. That represents a reversal of a plan by the New Hampshire Liquor Commission to enforce […]
MIAMI — Brightline has completed work to improve 48 grade crossings in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, a $5.4 million project supported by a $2.3 million federal grant as well as local funding. Federal Railroad Administration funding came in the form of a $2.3 million Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement, or CRISI, grant […]
LEXINGTON, N.C. — Siemens Mobility officials announced Tuesday on a media call with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Federal Railroad Administration Administrator Amit Bose that they intend to construct a $220 million passenger railcar manufacturing facility designed to complement the company’s existing Sacramento, Calif., plant. Dr. Roland Busch, CEO of parent company Siemens AG, […]
WASHINGTON — The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority aims to return to automated operation of DC Metrorail trains systemwide by this December, the Washington Post reports, reactivating a system shut off after a fatal 2009 collision. The return of Automatic Train Operation will end problems with operators running past red lights, missing stopping points at […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has begun offering coach passengers on the Empire Builder, California Zephyr, Southwest Chief, Coast Starlight, and Sunset Limited the opportunity to buy meals in those trains’ dining cars, a practice that began March 1. Since mid-2021, these are the only long-distance trains offering breakfasts, lunches, and dinners prepared to order for sleeping-car […]
ORLANDO — A Brightline train has hit speeds of 130 mph in testing on passenger operator’s corridor between Orlando and Cocoa, Fla., the company announced this morning (March 6, 2023), making it the fastest train ever to operate in Florida and the southeastern U.S. The 35-mile route paralleling the Beachline Expressway (State Route 528) is […]
NEW YORK — Amtrak will take a portion of one track out of service on of its Hell Gate Line between Penn Station and New Rochelle, N.Y., and adjust most Northeast Corridor schedules as of today (Monday, March 6) as part of its effort to cooperate with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Penn Station Access project, […]
OTTAWA — Transport Canada will provide up to C$5.4 million in funding for 20 projects nationwide under the Rail Climate Change Adaption Program, which seeks to better prepare railroads for dealing with conditions such as flooding, fires, and more extreme operating temperatures. The program supports research, development, and deployment of innovative technologies, tools, and approaches […]
NEW YORK — Responding to complaints resulting from the first week of its massive schedule revision, the Long Island Rail Road is adding morning rush-hour shuttle trains to Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal and lengthening trains on some other routes as of Monday, March 6. In a Twitter thread posted Friday, the LIRR said it would add […]
SEATTLE — Beginning Monday, March 6, Amtrak adds a morning departure from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Portland, Ore., and drops in a mid-afternoon northbound frequency from Portland that departs Seattle at 7 p.m. and arrives into the Canadian city at 11 p.m. Including the Seattle-Los Angeles Coast Starlight, this will increase the number of Seattle-Portland […]
