Action may be required on your Trains.com account in order to continue accessing content. Click here to learn more.
SALT LAKE CITY — Rail equipment manufacturer Stadler and the state of California on Thursday signed a contract calling for Stadler to build four hydrogen-powered trainsets for use in the state, with an option for up to 25 more trains. The contract signed Thursday formalizes an agreement announced as a “memorandum of understanding” in September […]
ORLANDO, Fla. — Stadler’s FLIRT H2 trainset, the hydrogen-powered commuter-rail equipment set to debut next year in Southern California, has made its first U.S. debut this week at the APTA Expo in Orlando, the American Public Transportation Association’s annual conference. The train will eventually join three Stadler FLIRT diesel multiple-unit trainsets on the San Bernardino […]
Santa Fe FT No. 168 set makes its regular run on train 75 north of San Diego in August 1951. The streamlined Warbonnet Fs provide a striking contrast to the heavyweight equipment on the train. Photo by Stan Kistler […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Regional Transit District has ordered eight more Siemens S700 low-floor light rail vehicles to be built at the Siemens Mobility plant in Sacramento, the manufacturer has announced. The new order follows earlier purchases of 20 of the light rail trainsets in 2020 and eight more in 2021, bringing the total […]
LOS ANGELES — Commuter rail operator Metrolink is expanding service on its Antelope Valley Line effective Oct. 23, adding more night service on weekdays and offering twice as many trains on weekends, KTLA-TV reports. Weekday service will see 15 round trips, up from the current 11. Inbound, the current earliest train of the day, which […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation requiring the organization overseeing Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner trains to assess the effects of climate change on its operations as part of its annual business plan. SB677, introduced by state Sen. Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas), requires the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency to identify projects to increase resiliency […]
LOS ANGELES — LA-area commuter rail operator Metrolink is launching a “Student Adventure Pass” program, allowing students with valid school identification to ride anywhere on the Metrolink system for free. The program begins this Monday, Oct. 9. Students can receive the pass via the Metrolink mobile app by registering via their school email address and […]
SAN CARLOS, Calif. — Caltrain on Thursday unveiled its initial plans for electrified service, which call for faster trains and a simplified schedule when electric operation begins in its San Francisco-San Jose corridor. Completion of the ongoing electrification project is currently expected in fall 2024. The plans call for 104 weekday trains, including four trains […]
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, […]
WASHINGTON — The operator of a piece of maintenance-of-way equipment moved onto unprotected track for unknown reasons, the National Transportation Safety Board said in determining the probable cause of a July 2022 collision between a Union Pacific roadway maintenance machine and an Amtrak Capitol Corridor train in Oakland, Calif. The NTSB completed its final accident […]
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The planned passenger rail service between Los Angeles and the Coachella Valley is receiving a boost in federal funding. In a July 28 press release, Congressman Ken Calvert announced that $5 million (of the $23.8 million secured for district transportation projects) — as part of the federal Fiscal Year 2024 Transportation/HUD Appropriations […]
In the steam era, perhaps no sight was as unconventional as an encounter with one of the Southern Pacific cab-forwards. These monstrous AC class 4-8-8-2 steam locomotives turned engine design almost literally on its head by flipping the position of the cab and the firebox to the front. As they would in the diesels that […]
