Great Northern’s Red River departs Minneapolis on the last leg of its daily morning Grand Forks, N.D.–St. Paul run in April 1951. Bob Borcherding photo […]
GN’s Red River at Minneapolis
Type of Train: Passenger/Transit
Alberta government turns down Calgary-Banff rail proposal
CALGARY, Alberta — The Alberta government is not willing to support a proposed Calgary-Banff passenger rail operation in its current form, saying it presents too great a financial risk. The Globe and Mail reports that Alberta Transportation Minister Prasad Panda says the plan underestimates the capital costs and the annual financial contribution from the province, […]
New York, New Jersey sign agreement on state funding for Northeast Corridor projects
The governors of New York and New Jersey have signed an agreement detailing how the two states will fund their portion of the Northeast Corridor’s Gateway bridge and tunnel projects. The Memorandum of Understanding signed by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy addresses funding for the Portal North bridge over […]
California budget deal creates high speed rail oversight position
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A state budget agreement passed last week releases the final $4.2 billion in bond funds for California’s high speed rail project, while also creating a new inspector general position to provide oversight for the troubled project. The San Jose Mercury News reports the budget deal allows the 171-mile Central Valley section of […]
Iowa city to purchase former CB&Q station
OTTUMWA, Iowa — The City of Ottumwa has agreed to purchase the city’s Amtrak depot, currently owned by the Iowa Heartland Historical Connection. The Ottumwa Courier reports that, by a 4-1 vote on Tuesday, the Ottumwa City Council agreed to purchase the building at a cost of $480,000, funds included in bond approvals earlier this […]
Clinchfield on Copper Creek
Pacific 153 leads the Clinchfield Railroad’s daily passenger train from Spartanburg, S.C., to Elkhorn City, Ky., across the landmark Copper Creek Viaduct near Speers Ferry, Va., on May 28, 1952. The lower trestle carries Southern Railway’s Bristol–Appalachia, Va., line over the creek. Ed Theisinger photo […]
VIA Rail Canada workers vote to authorize strike
MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada workers have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, according to the Unifor union. In voting by workers across Canada from June 20 to July 1, members of Unifor Council 4000 were 99.3% in favor of a strike, while Unifor Local 100 members voted 99.4% in favor. “The strike vote result […]
French rail operations hit by one-day strike
PARIS — French railway workers went on strike today (Wednesday, July 6), with national rail operator SNCF advising customers not to travel if at all possible. Reuters reports three of the four main unions at SNCF were taking part in the strike resulting in the cancellation of about a third of all trains. Paris commuter […]
Chief wreck puts further strain on Amtrak capacity woes: Analysis
CHICAGO — When bad CSX track caused the northbound Auto Train to derail 14 of 16 Superliners at Crescent City, Fla., on April 18, 2002, Amtrak strategists scrambled but were able to counteract the resulting equipment shortage. Dealing with a similar shock to the system today — such as the one caused by last week’s […]
SMS Rail Services plans passenger excursions on new trackage
BRIDGEPORT, N.J. — SMS Rail Services, perhaps best known to enthusiasts as the operator of a roster of Baldwin diesel locomotives that work on several rail switching operations, is preparing to enter the passenger excursion business on its newest line acquisition. SMS, established in 1994 to serve the large Pureland Industrial Park in Bridgeport, N.J., […]
Second ‘Missouri River Runner’ to return July 18
CHICAGO — Amtrak will restore a second day round trip of the Missouri River Runner between St. Louis and Kansas City as of Monday, July 18, reflecting additional funding by the state of Missouri. The additional round trip will see train No. 311 depart St. Louis at 8:15 a.m. and arrive in Kansas City at […]
Four railroad themed novels for summer reading
You might enjoy these four railroad themed novels on your summer travels. Rene Schweitzer details these four works of fiction that you may have overlooked. The Christmas Train David Baldacci Genre: Fiction First published: 2004 Journalist Tom Langdon, due to an “incident” at an airport, is banned from flying commercial airlines and takes Amtrak […]
