Long Island Rail Road opens second section of Third Track project

Electric multiple-unit passenger train on three-track main line

MINEOLA, N.Y. — The second section of the Long Island Railroad’s Third Track project is now in operation. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced the 2.5-mile segment between the Merillon Avenue station in Garden City Park and the Mineola station began handling trains on Tuesday, Aug. 30. This joins the 3-mile, Queens Village-Merillion Avenue portion of […]

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Unions, railroads hold three meetings; no agreement reached

Logos for BLET, SMART-TD unions

CLEVELAND — On-line and in-person meetings last week did not result in an agreement between railroads and unions over a new contract, the heads of two unions said in a joint statement issued Saturday. Jeremy Ferguson, president of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division (SMART-TD), and Dennis Pierce, president of […]

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STB grants request for more mediation time in Gulf Coast dispute

Surface Transportation Board logo

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has granted a request by the parties in the Amtrak Gulf Coast dispute to extend board-sponsored mediation for an additional 30 days. Amtrak, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and the Alabama State Port Authority and Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks had filed the request on Aug. 24, saying they agreed […]

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CSX rekindles its relationship with venerable Dash-8 locomotives

Blue standard-cab locomotive operating as second of two units on freight trainFre

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — After selling or retiring its roster of more than 100 General Electric C40-8 locomotives, CSX Transportation once again owns the late-1980s era Dash-8 standard cab locomotive through its June 1 acquisition of Pan Am Railways. The Class I railroad began divesting the 4,000-horsepower six-axle GE several years ago, retiring and selling most […]

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Amtrak Coach-class travel aboard the Empire Builder

Amtrak looks to expand its services and routes across the nation, including the Upper Midwest. In this candid look at Coach-class travel aboard the Empire Builder between St. Paul, Minn., and Milwaukee, Wis., you’ll discover how easy and comfortable it is to travel about the United States by passenger train. First-time traveler Gerry Leone has […]

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CSX refutes union allegations of problems at Selkirk Yard

Cars moving over hump in yard

WASHINGTON — CSX Transportation is pushing back against allegations a local union official has made regarding operations and safety at the railroad’s hump yard in Selkirk, N.Y. A combination of layoffs, crew shortages, changes to remote-control switching jobs, and CSX’s takeover of New England regional Pan Am Railways has created congestion at the yard near […]

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St. Louis Merchants Bridge project reaches final major milestone

Red crane hovers over bridge truses in front of St. Louis Arch

ST. LOUIS — The culmination of the Merchant’s Bridge rebuild project, which began in 2018, is scheduled to take place today (Friday, Aug. 26), with the third and final new span being floated into place on the Mississippi River. Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA) owns the bridge. The 4,340-foot-long bridge, completed in 1889, […]

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St. Paul Union Depot — Another great Amtrak station

St. Paul Union Depot is a 105 year-old grand structure in the heart of downtown St. Paul, Minn. In the early 20th century, it was the transportation center for this entire area. Then, like many depots in America, it fell on hard times. But today it’s been restored and remodeled. Now, it’s not only a […]

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