WASHINGTON — Union Pacific has proposed building a new five-mile branch line to reach a petrochemical plant in Bay City, Texas, that is currently served only by rival BNSF Railway. UP, in a Sept. 24 filing, asked the Surface Transportation Board to exempt the project from regulatory review, as is common for relatively small projects. […]
Army half-tracks are loaded onto flatcars at an unidentified location during World War II. This image is from the 1943 Office of War Information film Troop Train, a 10-minute short depicting the movement of an armored division to the West Coast. Photo by Classic Trains collection […]
NEW YORK — Metro-North Railroad will launch “super express” trains next month between Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Grand Central Terminal. The trains will cut travel time to less than 90 minutes each way, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said today. The first “super-express” trains will run on Monday, Oct. 6. “Delivering better, faster Metro-North service to Hudson […]
SEATTLE—Though most state-supported and long distance trains across Amtrak’s far-flung network have been operating with minimal delays, a number of significant disruptions occurred over the weekend which continue to underscore the shortage of sufficient serviceable equipment Pacific Northwest cancellations Problems for Amtrak’s Cascades began Friday afternoon, Sept. 19, when Portland, Ore., to Vancouver, B.C. train […]
CSX’s rebuilt Blue Ridge Subdivision — the former Clinchfield Railroad in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina which was heavily damaged by flooding after Hurricane Helene last fall — hosted its first revenue freight train over the weekend. With Clinchfield heritage locomotive No. 1902 on the point, train U248-20 traversed the line on Saturday. CSX […]
STRATFORD, England — Back at my London base for the first part of this tour, a hotel adjacent to the Stratford station. Unlike my first stay a week ago, I this time asked for a room with a railway view. (Clerk: “No one has every asked for that before.” I now understand why; you can […]
GRANTSVILLE, Utah — Savage Tooele Railroad held a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday to celebrate the opening of the 11-mile short line, which revived a dormant Western Pacific branch line southwest of Salt Lake City. “This new railroad is a major step forward for Utah’s economy,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in a statement. “The Savage Tooele […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National has expanded and upgraded its specialized fire suppression fleet as wildfires in Canada have become more extreme in recent years. CN has introduced two new firefighting trains, Oceanus and Amphitrite, which join a fleet that includes Neptune, Trident, and Poseidon. The new trains carry 25,000 gallons of water and are equipped […]
BEVERLY SHORES, Ind. — One of the last surviving vestiges of the interurban era will continue to serve South Shore Line passengers in its current state, thanks to a recently-announced partnership. The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, Indiana Landmarks organization, and the Beverly Shores Depot Museum and Art Gallery recently announced renewal of a 100-year lease […]
GLASGOW, Scotland — Another night, another sleeper train. Tonight, I’ll be concluding my two-night experience with Scotland’s Caledonian Sleeper, taking the 11:40 p.m. train from Glasgow Central Station back to London Euston, where I started this quick excursion into Scotland on Tuesday night. Since my previous post, I have made a 418-mile, 12-hour, 45-minute trip […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern’s Digital Train Inspection (DTI) portals have been recognized in Fast Company’s 2025 Innovation by Design Awards, receiving an honorable mention in the Artificial Intelligence Design category. It’s the first time a railroad has earned a spot in the business technology magazine’s annual awards. “This recognition highlights how our innovation is transforming […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada yesterday urged Transport Canada to immediately implement interim measures to prevent train collisions while an enhanced train control system is being developed. The recommendation was made as part of the TSB’s report on a November 2023 collision between Canadian National locomotives and an Exo commuter train […]
