Amtrak begins process to award contracts for B&P tunnel project

Brickwork inside railroad tunnel

WASHINGTON — Amtrak has taken the first step in the procurement process to replace Baltimore’s B&P Tunnel, issuing a Request for Letters of Interest for the new tunnel’s Southern Approach construction package. The $1 billion-plus Southern Approach package is the first of three major construction contracts for the project to replace the 1.4-mile tunnel dating […]

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Britain hit by biggest rail strike since 1990s

Five trains meet on five-track main line

LONDON — Most trains in Britain have been cancelled or rescheduled as of today (Tuesday, June 21) due to a widespread strike. The action involves some, but not all, railway workers at 13 passenger companies, plus national rail infrastructure company Network Rail and the London subway (Tube) system. In total, around 40,000 people are striking. […]

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Judge signs order barring strike action by NJ Transit engineers

NJTransit_PrincetonJct_Lassen

CAMDEN, N.J. — A federal judge has barred the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has been barred from initiating future strikes against NJ Transit following a job action that shut down commuter rail operations last Friday. NorthJersey.com reports the emergency order issued by U.S. District Judge Christine O’Hearn also requires the union to immediately […]

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Opening of Montreal light rail system delayed

Rail transit vehicle in snow

MONTREAL — Opening of Montreal’s Réseau express métropolitain light rail network has been pushed back because of issues with the Mount Royal Tunnel, the system’s developer has announced. The CBC reports initial plans had called for 18 of the 26 stations on the 41.6-mile REM system to open in phases between fall 2023 and fall […]

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Groundbreaking celebrates South Shore double-track project (updated)

Orange and Red diesel with two passenger cars

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — While significant preparation work has been in progress since the end of February, officials gathered Monday morning (June 20, 2022) in Michigan City for a groundbreaking ceremony for the South Shore Double Track Project. Inside Indiana Business reports Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb told reporters after the 10 a.m. ceremony that the […]

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Friday sick calls by engineers shut down NJ Transit

Trains at station

NEWARK, N.J. — A NJ Transit spokesman said the agency would “explore all legal remedies” in the wake of a sudden shutdown of all rail service last Friday, June 17, as a result of what it called “an illegal job action” by members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. After cancelling more than […]

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South Shore’s West Lake Corridor lands federal loan

WASHINGTON — The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District’s West Lake Corridor Project — to build an 8-mile spur for South Shore Line commuter service between Hammond and Dyer, Ind. — has received a $203.3 million loan as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing program. The project will include four […]

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Officials celebrate completion of CREATE Argo Connection project

Six people with red, white, and blue locomotive in background

SUMMIT, Ill. — Some projects in Chicago’s CREATE program, which seeks to address rail congestion, bring dramatic changes to the landscape. The Englewood Flyover, the lengthy bridge which raised Metra’s Rock Island District above the Norfolk Southern main line on the city’s South Side, is the classic example. For others, the impact is far more […]

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Ethan Allen Express extension to Burlington, Vt., to begin July 29

Ethan_Allen_Hartley

BARRE, Vt. — Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express will extend service from its current northern endpoint of Rutland to Burlington, Vt., with additional stops in Vergennes and Middlebury, as of July 29, 2022, the Vermont Agency of Transportation has announced. The extension follows extensive work to upgrade track infrastructure between Rutland and Burlington to accommodate higher train […]

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