SEATTLE — Sound Transit’s East Link light rail line to Redmond, Wash. — which had been slated to open next year — may not be fully completed until 2025. The transit agency will consider opening a portion of the line in 2024 at an upcoming board meeting. But the delay in opening the East Link […]
BISMARCK, N.D. — BNSF Railway’s plans to replace a more than century-old bridge across the Missouri River took another step forward Monday, while a preservation group’s effort to stop the bridge project sustained another setback. The Bismarck Tribune reports the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality issued the water quality certification necessary for BNSF to […]
NEWARK, N.J. — The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has issued a Request for Qualifications for a 2.5-mile elevated train system to replace the current Newark AirTrain. This is the Port Authority’s second attempt to advance the project, approved by Federal Aviation Administration last year [see “Newark AirTrain project gets federal environmental […]
MEDFORD, Mass. — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority opened its Green Line light rail extension to Medford this morning (Monday, Dec. 12), completing a $2.3 billion project adding five stations. The Boston Globe reports more than 200 people were gathered at the Medford/Tufts station by 4:37 a.m., with a packed first train departing at 4:52 […]
NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority remains mum on its date to open Grand Central Madison, the new Long Island Rail Road station beneath Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. But that date has moved one step closer with the announcement that operational control of the facility has shifted from MTA Construction and Development, the […]
THE PAS, Manitoba — Disruptions to the remote train service between The Pas and Pukatawagan in northern Manitoba, along with the train’s limited capacity, have left some people stranded in The Pas for extended periods, the CBC reports. The problems were highlighted last Monday, Dec. 5, when the train — which only operates only twice […]
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Few people were more knowledgeable — or more enthusiastic —about passenger rail operations in the United States and Mexico over the last 70 years than Ed Von Nordeck, who died Dec. 6 in California. He was 89. Von Nordeck began learning the basics as a Southern Pacific ticket agent in 1952 at […]
MOBILE, Ala. — Amtrak expects to begin operating passenger service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., sometime in 2023, but virtually all other details of the operation remain undisclosed after a meeting of the Southern Rail Commission, the Al.com news site reports. The commission held its quarterly meeting Friday in Mobile. The news site notes […]
Rock Island E7 634 eases to a stop with a late-running Golden State from Los Angeles at Joliet Union Station in 1951. In the background Santa Fe F units wait with the westbound Grand Canyon. Wallace W. Abbey photo […]
Mind-blowing dining car facts Dining by rail was transformed from a disgusting experience to a culinary calling card pitting one railroad against another to garner passengers. At the table, passengers enjoyed fine food served with the grace and style of the best restaurants. What we didn’t see was the world and culture of the dining […]
BRONX, N.Y.— New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and other officials held a groundbreaking ceremony Friday for the Penn Station Access project, which will allow trains from Metro-North’s New Haven Line to directly serve Penn Station while adding four new stations in the Bronx. Hochul said in a press release that the project “will not only […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has asked the Surface Transportation Board to investigate what it calls the “abysmal” on-time performance of the Sunset Limited, which it attributes largely to the operating practices of Union Pacific, and seeks “damages and other relief” from UP as a result of those practices. Amtrak lays out the details of its complaint […]
