WASHINGTON — Beginning today (Monday, March 4), Amtrak is scheduling four additional Northeast Regional round trips weekdays and two on the weekends between New York and Washington, D.C. The decision to reconfigure seating in each coach so that half of the seats face in different directions [see “Fixed forward and backward seating to speed Northeast Regional […]
Norfolk Southern needs to make some concessions to activist investor Ancora Holdings if the railroad wants to maintain control of its board and keep its current management team, retired Canadian National CEO JJ Ruest says. Ruest knows a thing or two about proxy battles: He tamped down activism from one of CN’s largest investors after […]
WILLIAMS, Ariz. — Winter hibernation for Grand Canyon Railway No. 4960 concluded on March 2 as the 2-8-2 headed the first excursion of the railway’s 2024 steam season, between Williams and the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Off-season work since the end of the 2023 schedule included, as previously reported [See “Grand Canyon […]
STUART, Fla. — Brightline formally announced Stuart, in Martin County, Fla., will be the site of its next station today (Monday, March 4), choosing the site approximately 40 miles north of West Palm Beach from five proposals by public and private landowners. Stuart’s selection had been reported last week after Stuart officials informed city employees […]
WASHINGTON — Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Iowa Interstate on Friday asked federal regulators to designate Canadian National’s proposed acquisition of Iowa Northern as a “significant” transaction that would require a longer and more rigorous review process. Last week the Surface Transportation Board accepted CN’s application to acquire Iowa Northern and said the $230 million […]
WASHINGTON – Federal regulators have concluded that construction of the proposed Savage Tooele Railroad in Utah would have no impact on the environment provided that mitigation measures are followed. The Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis on Friday released its final environmental assessment for the proposed short line, which aims to revive Union Pacific’s […]
F40M-2F locomotives In the late 1990s, Amtrak converted a handful of its F40PH locomotives to locomotives suitable for freight service. At the time, new Genesis engines from General Electric were fast replacing its massive fleet of F40PHs in mainline service. Amtrak would produce 14 F40M-2F locomotive that featured a number of changes, including removal of […]
TORONTO — EdgePoint Investment Group, which has a $960 million stake in Norfolk Southern, today praised the proxy battle that activist partner Ancora Holdings is waging against the railroad. “EdgePoint supports the changes proposed by Ancora to NSC’s board of directors and management team,” EdgePoint said in a statement. Ancora has proposed a majority slate […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board on Friday approved an emergency request to allow short line company Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad to provide service for 30 days on the line formerly operated by the Blackwell Northern Gateway Railroad, shut down in February by the Federal Railroad Administration for safety reasons. The State of […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s New York-Miami trains will begin offering “traditional dining” to “a limited number of coach customers” starting today (Monday, March 4), according to spokeswoman Kimberly Woods. The company dropped meal-in-a-bowl “flexible dining” last March on the Silver Star and last June on the Silver Meteor [see “Amtrak returns ‘traditional dining’ …,” Trains News […]
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia legislation requiring two-person crews for freight trains in the state has passed the legislature and been sent to Gov. Glenn Youngkin for his signature, the Virginian-Pilot newspaper reports. The bill that passed narrowly passed both houses of the General Assembly — 51-49 in the House of Delegates, and 20-19 in the […]
LOWER SAUCON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — National Transportation Safety Board investigators have released control of the site of Saturday’s collision and derailment involving three trains to Norfolk Southern for its crews and contractors to address cleanup, the Allentown Morning Call reports. The NTSB turned the site over to NS late this afternoon [Sunday, March 3], but […]
