Action may be required on your Trains.com account in order to continue accessing content. Click here to learn more.
WASHINGTON — The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is again at odds with the independent agency that oversees safety of the Metrorail system, with Metro calling for mediation of a decision by the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission that would prevent more of Metro’s 7000-series railcars from being returned to service. The Washington Post reports that […]
The Wabash’s Chicago–St. Louis Banner Blue rolls through Chicago Ridge, Ill., in August 1948. Carrying the markers is a classic open-platform parlor-observation car. The Banner Blue would remain an all-heavyweight train until 1960. Bob Borcherding photo […]
MIAMI — Aided by its seasonal Polar Express promotion and discounted $10 rides celebrating the opening of stations at Boca Raton and Aventura, Brightline’s Miami-West Palm Beach service carried 183,920 passengers in December 2022, generating $5.1 million of ticket revenue. Both are monthly records since service began in early 2018. The new stations only opened […]
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Massachusetts factory where China’s CRRC is building rapid-transit cars for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is a “toxic environment” where equipment is advanced on the assembly line despite missing parts and workers often wait months for parts to arrive because suppliers have not been paid, according to a Boston Globe report. […]
SKAGWAY, Alaska — The White Pass & Yukon Railway will resume trips into Canada this summer, the first such operations since before the COVID-19 pandemic, KHNS Radio reports. One-way passenger service to Fraser, British Columbia, will run daily from early May to early October, with return or continuing service by bus. Service to Carcross and […]
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A proposed passenger rail service linking North Adams to Boston via the Pan Am Southern route through the Hoosac Tunnel would cost about $2.19 billion according to a presentation last week by Massachusetts Department of Transportation officials. The Berkshire Eagle newspaper reports that the Northern Tier Passenger Rail Study was launched […]
SEATTLE — The Amtrak Cascades service will add a round trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, from Portland, Ore., on March 7, restoring operations to Vancouver to their pre-pandemic levels. Also, the Cascades service recently provided an advance look at how its equipment will look, inside and out, when it takes delivery of the Siemens equipment […]
DeKALB, Ill. — The DeKalb City Council has voted to fund a transportation study aimed at determining the feasibility of bringing Metra commuter rail service to the city. At its meeting earlier this week, the council voted unanimously to fund a $98,379 study by Sam Schwartz Consulting LLC “to identify potential ridership, capital costs, and […]
The Lionel 2023 Big Book catalog is out. I just had a quick flip through it and here are my first impressions. I’ll tell you right off, this isn’t an exhaustive treatment and I can’t cover everything. Nor will you find any mention of the prices of these things. As I’m frequently inclined to say, […]
NEW YORK — New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority will build its first light rail line under plans announced this week for the Interborough Express project, which will connect Brooklyn and Queens on an existing Long Island Rail Road freight right-of-way that will connect 17 subway lines and LIRR passenger service. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has reduced the price of its USA Rail Pass from $499 to $299 through Jan. 20. The unusually large discount affords travelers interested in covering a lot of ground or booking multiple-stop itineraries a cost-effective way to get around, as long as they can forego upgrades to sleeping car accommodations or business […]
BOSTON — A Boston jury has acquitted a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority light rail operator of negligence for a July 2021 collision that injured 27 people, the Boston Globe reports. After just 30 minutes of deliberation, the jury found Owen Turner, 51, not guilty of a misdemeanor count of negligence for the July 30, 2021, […]
