NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Wednesday released a 20-year assessment of the transit system’s needs over the next 20 years, calling it an “unconstrainted view of the MTA’s needs, rather than constraining it to meet an arbitrary budget target.” The resulting document, entitled “The Future Rides With Us,” is available here. (A […]
MONTREAL — The Canadian National Railway computer outage that disrupted GO Transit and VIA Rail Canada trains on Tuesday was caused by a software upgrade, CN said on Wednesday. CN spokesman Jonathan Abecassis told CTV News that the railroad had determined the problem was because of “an internal systems upgrade, which affected CN’s ability to […]
MANCHESTER, England — In a speech today (Oct. 4) at the annual Conservative Party conference, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced cancellation of construction of the second stage of the planned high speed rail project known as HS2. That segment was to link Manchester and Birmingham. The decision — if it survives an election due […]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — “At 9:01 a.m. on Sept. 30, I opened the switch to the main line and No. 2926 backed out under its own power for the first time since it was in steam back in 1953,” proudly stated by Mathew Casford, chief of rail operations for New Mexico Steam Locomotive & Railroad Historical […]
THOMASTON, Conn. — The Railroad Museum of New England is launching a fundraising campaign to restore Sumter & Choctaw Railway 2-6-2 No. 103 to service. No. 103 has been part of the RMNE collection since 1986 and was one of the first heritage steam locomotives to operate in the Northeast, from 1962 to 1975. No. 103 […]
SALT LAKE CITY — Today, at the Kentucky studio of sculptor Douwe Blumberg, a crane gently lifted a gold spike measuring 43.3 feet long and weighing just under 7,000 pounds, onto a decorated semitrailer. The spike, commissioned by Utah’s Golden Spike Foundation, is a new memorial commemorating the workers who built the Transcontinental Railroad. Starting […]
Dallas-Houston high speed rail AUSTIN, Texas — Two U.S. Congressmen from Texas expressed heavy opposition towards proposed federal funding for a planned high-speed rail service between Dallas and Houston. Amtrak announced its partnership with the Texas Central Railroad LLC for the project in August 2023 and jointly submitted federal grant applications for both study and […]
WASHINGTON – U.S. rail traffic was up 1.5% in September as intermodal had its best month of the year, the Association of American Railroads reported today. U.S. railroads originated 921,716 carloads in September, up 2.3% from a year ago. U.S. railroads also originated 1,008,896 containers and trailers in September, up 0.7%. In September, 13 of […]
CHAMA, N.M. and ANTONITO, COLO. — The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad has named Steven Butler as its new general manager. Butler takes over from Scott Gibbs, one of the railroad’s Colorado commissioners, who had temporarily stepped in to run day-to-day operations. A life-long rail enthusiast, Butler’s family owned a tourist railroad in the Midwest. […]
LOS ANGELES – Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner trains will now operate on renewable diesel fuel, the LOSSAN rail agency, which manages the service, announced Oct. 3. Renewable diesel is chemically similar to fossil diesel but made from renewable raw materials such as used cooking oil, instead of crude oil. The Pacific Surfliner operates between San Diego, […]
RUSSIAVILLE, Ind. — For the first time since 1940, Union Traction Co. of Indiana interurban car No. 429 has moved under its own power. The 83-year-old vehicle is currently being restored by the Hoosier Heartland Trolley Co. No. 429 was built in 1925 by the St. Louis Car Co. and designed to hold 44 passengers. […]
Canadian Pacific Kansas City has imposed an 8,500-foot train length restriction on the Meridian Speedway, the shortcut between the Southeast and Southwest that is a joint venture with Norfolk Southern. The move affects just one train: The daily eastbound domestic intermodal train that CPKC receives from Union Pacific at Shreveport, La., and delivers to NS […]
