Weekly U.S. rail traffic remains ahead of 2023 levels

Weekly table showing U.S. carload traffic by commodity type, plus overall intermodal volume.

WASHINGTON — U.S. weekly rail traffic began the second half of 2024 the same way it ended the first half — with increased volume compared to 2023. For the week ending July 6, U.S. railroads handed 421,817 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.3% increase over the same week a year earlier, according to statistics from […]

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VIA Rail Canada unveils specially painted corridor trainset

Yellow Siemens Charger locomotive in yard

MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada has introduced a special one-off paint scheme, which it is calling “Lumi,” for one of its new Siemens-built trainsets for use in the Québec City-Windsor corridor. Lumi, short for luminoscity, features the monochrome yellow that has long been a signature color for VIA.  The company says the Lumi trainset “acts […]

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Rare-mileage trip on Reading & Northern to benefit museum

RDC cars emerging from tunnel in forest

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The National Museum of Industrial History will offer a day-long, rare-mileage trip to Vosburg Tunnel on the Reading & Northern Railroad, using two R&N Budd Rail Diesel Cars, on Wednesday, July 31. The 3,900-foot former Lehigh Valley Railroad tunnel north of Tunkhannock, Pa., was completed in 1886. The trip, the 2024 Anthracite […]

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FRA announces $1.1 billion in funding for grade crossing elimination grants

Light blue locomotie with bilevel commuter cars crossing street

WASHINGTON — More than $1.1 billion in funding is now available under a federal program to eliminate railroad grade crossings. The Federal Railroad Administration on Tuesday issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity for those funds under the Rail Crossing Elimination Grant Program, which provides money for grade-crossing separations, upgraded safety devises, or crossing closures. Applications […]

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Amtrak may be planning to combine Capitol Limited and Silver Star: Analysis (updated)

WASHINGTON — Circumstantial evidence gleaned from Amtrak’s booking site portends mid-November changes to the operation of the Chicago-Washington, D.C. Capitol Limited and the New York-Miami Silver Star. A Trains News Wire review of ticketing availabilities on the two trains indicates tentative plans to combine their operation as a single-level Chicago-Miami train. Doing so would allow […]

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Metra Electric service to see changes July 13-20 for construction

Metra_Electric_Lassen

CHICAGO — Metra’s Electric District will see some service disruptions July 13-20 to accommodate construction work adding a fourth track in downtown Chicago. On Saturday, July 13, and Saturday, July 20, Electric service will operate on a Sunday schedule to reduce the number of trains in the construction zone, while midday service will change on […]

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July 2024

The July 2024 cover of Trains magazine

In every issue Trains.com, p. 4 Guide to the latest content posted on our website News, p. 6 Brightline West hosts a first-spike ceremony for its Las Vegas-Southern California high-speed line Bill Stephens, p. 10 Class Is should thank the FRA for two-person crew ruling Preservation, p. 44 Wisconsin Great Northern rescues a steam locomotive […]

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