Alstom signs contract to operate, maintain Newark AirTrain

Monorail trains meet

NEWARK, N.J. — Alstom has signed a seven-year contract to operate and maintain the AirTrain system at Newark Liberty International Airport, the company announced Thursday. The deal with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the airport, valued at about $265 million (announced as €240 million by Alstom), runs through January 2030 […]

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CSX train derails in Kentucky (updated)

Derailed auto rack

GLENDALE, Ky. — Occupants of a vehicle suffered “non-life-threatening injuries” this afternoon (March 16) when their car was struck by a derailed car from a CSX train, the railroad said in a statement to WHAS-TV. Twenty-one cars  derailed when the train applied emergency braking to avoid striking a truck at the Hodgenville Road grade crossing […]

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UP’s Coast Line again shut down by storm damage

Passenger train on trestle near Pacific Ocean

WATSONVILLE, Calif. — For the second time this winter, Amtrak has been forced to halt Coast Starlight service for an extended period in the wake of weather-related damages to Union Pacific’s Coast Line. Following a fierce winter storm that made landfall on Friday, March 10, a 74-year-old earthen levee along the Pajaro River in Monterey […]

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BNSF train derails in Arizona

BNSF Railway logo

TOPOCK, Ariz. — Derailed cars of BNSF Railway train that derailed Wednesday night were carrying corn syrup, the railroad reports, correcting initial reports from the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office that hazardous materials were on board. CNN reports that BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent told the news network that the derailment occurred about 7:40 p.m. near the […]

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Norfolk Southern to sell Saluda Grade for conversion to trail

Green and white diesels at crest of mountain pass

LANDRUM, S.C. — Norfolk Southern has agreed to sell 31 miles of right-of-way for its dormant Saluda Grade — formerly the steepest main line in America — to the Saluda Grade Trail Conservancy for conversion to a trail, the Spartanburg Post and Courier reports. Three non-profit groups — Conserving Carolina, Upstate Forever, and PAL: Play, […]

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Equipment shortage causes 4-hour delay for ‘Pennsylvanian’

Electric and diesel locomotive on passenger train at station

HARRISBURG, Pa. – A locomotive shortage over the weekend caused Amtrak’s westbound Pennsylvanian from New York to run more than four hours late on its 444-mile trip to Pittsburgh. On Saturday (March 11), the seven-car train No. 43 left Manhattan’s Penn Station Moynihan Train Hall on time behind an ACS-64 electric locomotive as usual, changing […]

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Amtrak launches Silver Star traditional dining ‘pilot’

Passenger cars on bridge

WASHINGTON — Beginning with the northbound Silver Star of today (Wednesday, March 15), and the southbound train on Friday, March 17, Amtrak is returning full dining car meals to the Star’s Viewliner II diner. It will be the train’s first such food service since “traditional dining” was replaced by “flexible” meals in a bowl on […]

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