Get your old trains running again! It’s time to take them out of the boxes and have some fun. In this chapter from Beginner’s Guide to Repairing Lionel Trains, Ray L. Plummer offers advice on how to do it. Get your old trains running again “Old electric train” – that’s what it says on the […]
NEW YORK – The Metropolitan Transportation Authority held a station operations exercise No. 13 at Grand Central Madison, the new 700,000 square-foot Long Island Rail Road terminal set to debut this year at Grand Central Terminal. Around 200 volunteers participated in an exercise to navigate the concourse and make notes on travel paths throughout […]
RALEIGH, N.C. – After reporting a record-breaking month in September, North Carolina’s state-sponsored intercity passenger service achieved another monthly high for ridership in October. The Carolinian and Piedmont trains carried 55,493 passengers in October, beating September’s record of 48,488 passengers by over 14%. “What a fantastic accomplishment for the traveling public,” state Transportation Secretary Eric […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s Vice President of Long-Distance Service, Larry Chestler, said the company will be without more than a tenth of its equipment for those operations during the current fiscal year, which began in September. Participating in a Rail Passengers Association webinar on Tuesday, Chestler also reviewed the status of onboard dining, workforce hiring, internal […]
BALTIMORE — Three rail options are among the seven alternatives for a north-south transit corridor in the Baltimore region, for which the Maryland Department of Transportation ended public comment on Nov. 7. Comment on seven alternatives for east-west corridors concluded Aug. 1. Both sets of corridors are part of the Central Maryland Regional Transportation Plan, a […]
MIAMI – The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees commuter railroad Tri-Rail, has signed an agreement with Florida East Coast Railway and Brightline, that allows SFRTA personnel to begin training and testing on Brightline/FEC’s route into MiamiCentral Station. The agreement is part of ongoing negotiations to operate Tri-Rail trains on the eight-mile portion of […]
LA PLATA, Mo. – Officials from Amtrak and the La Plata-based American Passenger Rail Heritage Foundation marked the completion of a $6 million upgrade of the former Santa Fe La Plata station with a ribbon cutting ceremony Nov. 12. The station is served by Amtrak trains Nos. 3 and 4, the Southwest Chief. APRHF is […]
ORLANDO, Fla. — Brightline will resume 110-mph testing of its passenger trains in Florida’s Martin and St. Lucie counties beginning this Friday, Nov. 18, the company has announced. Testing is scheduled Friday through Sunday, Nov. 20, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Flaggers and law enforcement officers will be present at five grade crossings during […]
Chicago-area pedestrian crossing disappears I have no idea how long pedestrians have been crossing the railroad right-of-way at the gated crossing on BNSF Railway’s triple-track main line at Central Avenue in Western Springs, Ill., but it’s safe to assume it’s been quite a while. But the way that crossing quickly disappeared is another reminder of […]
CHICAGO — Metra’s board of directors has voted to maintain its current special post-pandemic fare discounts — a $100 flat-rate “Super Saver” monthly pass and $10 and $6 day passes — through the end of 2023 as part of the operating budget for the coming year approved on Friday. The current fare structure was one […]
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority, the group seeking to return passenger service to southern Montana, has agreed to help BNSF Railway seek a federal grant for improvements on the route of the Empire Builder, the existing Amtrak service in the northern part of the state. The Missoula Current reports that the $15 […]
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Florida Department of Transportation will provide up to $74.25 million to Broward County for capital improvements to establish commuter rail service on the the Florida East Coast Railway/Brightline corridor to Fort Lauderdale, Broward County Mayor Michael Udine said this week. In a Twitter post, Udine provided a copy of a […]
