News photo: Preparing for Amtrak’s return to Montreal

Passenger train on bridge near water, with high-rise apartments in background

MONTREAL — Operating as Amtk 694 (the train number Canadian National has always assigned to the southbound Adirondack while on CN rails), an Amtrak requalification run heads to Montreal’s Central Station on Thursday as it passes the mostly drained Peel Basin. While Amtrak service to Vancouver and Toronto was restored earlier this year, there is still […]

Read More…

TSA issues rail cybersecurity directive

Trains Washington Watch logo

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has issued its cybersecurity directives for freight and passenger railroads, a move greeted positively by the Association of American Railroads. The 14-page directive requires railroads to submit a cybersecurity implementation plan to the TSA for approval with 120 days. That plan must address measures to prevent operational disruption […]

Read More…

Amtrak’s California Zephyr day trip to Winter Park

California Zephyr day trip to Winter Park Amtrak’s California Zephyr is irrefutably one of the passenger railroad’s most picturesque and famed routes, for rail enthusiasts and historians alike. And thanks to the California Zephyr schedule today, passengers can enjoy a beautiful segment of the route in a single day and mostly in daylight hours year-round. […]

Read More…

NJ Transit agrees to fix accessibility violations at five stations

Princeton_Junction_Lassen

NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit has agreed to upgrade five of its stations to make them compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey has announced. The settlement covers the New Brunswick, Newark Penn, Princeton Junction, Metropark, and Trenton stations. While all five are considered wheelchair […]

Read More…

Missouri DOT seeks $50 million to address grade crossing improvements

Aerial view of accident site with debris of truck hit by train

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The fatal collision and derailment of Amtrak’s Southwest Chief appears to have spurred action by officials in Missouri to address grade-crossing safety. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the Missouri Department of Transportation is seeking $50 million from the state’s general budget to address grade-crossing improvements. Currently, the state budgets about $1.5 […]

Read More…

Southern California’s Arrow line to begin operation Oct. 24

Map with orange rail line and blue background

REDLANDS, Calif. — San Bernardino County’s Arrow rail service, connecting Redlands to downtown San Bernardino and a connection with Metrolink commuter rail service, will begin revenue service on Monday, Oct. 24, the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority has announced. The 9-mile, five-station route will debut with Stadler diesel multiple-unit trainsets offering service between Redlands and […]

Read More…

Hitachi Rail shows design for new Maryland factory

Image of long white factory building

HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Hitachi Rail has released final designs for a $70 million factory to be built on a 41-acre site in Washington County, Md., which will begin operations by building a 256-car order for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The factory, projected to open in the first quarter of 2024, will employ up […]

Read More…

Locomotive builders seek path to the future

Diagram of red and gray battery-electric locomotive

FORT WORTH, Texas — Railroading’s path is clearly heading away from the diesel-electric locomotive, the builders of those locomotives agree. Where that path leads is far less clear, representatives of Alstom, Progress Rail, Siemens, and Wabtec said in a discussion at last week’s Railway Supply Institute Conference. Battery power, hydrogen, and hybrids of all sorts […]

Read More…