MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway will acquire Iowa Northern Railway, which operates approximately 253 route-miles and 275 track-miles, primarily between Cedar Rapids and Manly, Iowa, CN announced today. Iowa Northern was founded in 1984 on a portion of the former Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific. The Class III short line serves 19 counties in […]
WASHINGTON — Chicago Union Station will receive a $93.6 million grant for modernization, part of the Chicago Hub Improvement Program outlined earlier this year by federal, state, local, and Amtrak officials. U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, and U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (all D-Ill.), announced the funding today (Wednesday, Dec. 6). Money will come […]
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United States and Canada will work together to develop a common vision for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from locomotives, officials announced today at the United Nations COP28 conference. The nations will create a Rail Decarbonization Task Force, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and […]
FRANKLIN PARK, Ill. — Metra continues to test some of its SD70MACH locomotives, even as it works the remanufactured freight units into revenue service [see “Metra SD70MACHs begin revenue service,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 30, 2023]. In a relatively rare move, correspondent Chris Guss caught units 504 and 505 operating back-to-back on a test train […]
WASHINGTON — The California High-Speed Rail Authority will receive about $3.1 billion for projects to continue development and construction in the San Joaquin Valley, U.S. Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Jim Costa (D-Fresno) announced in statements on Tuesday. The funds will come from the Federal Railroad Administration, under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Federal-State Partnership […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation is set to award a $1 billion grant for development of a new passenger rail line between Raleigh, N.C., and Richmond, Va., using CSX Transportation’s partially abandoned S-Line freight route between the two cities, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) announced on Tuesday. Tillis called the project “a big win […]
WASHINGTON — Seven routes in North Carolina and four serving Ohio are among those to receive funding to study possible future Amtrak service under the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development Program, according to announcements today (Tuesday, Dec. 5) by members of Congress, as well as one mayor. At least 14 corridors have been […]
PORTLAND, Ore. — Amtrak has suspended service between Portland and Seattle through at least 8:30 a.m. on Thursday following a landslide today (Tuesday, Dec. 5) near Vancouver, Wash., according to a service alert posted by the passenger operator. The suspension of Amtrak Cascades and Coast Starlight service between the two cities follows a slide on […]
CSX reached a milestone on the former Pan Am Railways on Monday, Dec. 4, when it ran the first train in nearly five years between Old Town, Maine, and the New Brunswick Southern interchange at Mattawamkeag, Maine. The 45-mile stretch of the former Maine Central was out of service and previously had speeds restricted to […]
Sir Rod Stewart, Jools Holland announce collaborative album: Sir Rod Stewart and Jools Holland, legendary musicians who first bonded over their shared passion for model railroading, have announced a collaborative album titled ‘Swing Fever’ due to release in February of 2024. The pair of artists will be joined on this collaborative album by Jools’ Rhythm […]
CROZET, Va. — “Surprise and delight” is language public-relations gurus routinely apply to whatever they are promoting, though you never know when it will actually occur while looking out the window of an Amtrak passenger train. Last Sunday, Dec. 3, it happened aboard the Chicago-bound Cardinal about 12 miles west of Charlottesville, Va., on the […]
WASHINGTON — The Brightline West high speed rail project will receive a $3 billion federal grant, enabling the line between Las Vegas, Nev., and Southern California to begin construction, according to Nevada’s two U.S. senators. Sen. Jacky Rosen confirmed the grant today (Tuesday, Dec. 5) in multiple social media posts, including one on X (formerly […]
