WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has granted Metra’s request for terminal trackage rights on three Union Pacific lines in the Chicago area, addressing the commuter operator’s concerns that UP could otherwise choose to halt commuter service in the absence of an operating agreement. The ruling today [Sept. 3, 2025] ensures Metra service will continue […]
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board has called for on-track rail maintenance equipment to be equipped with collision avoidance technology that can detect people or objects prior to a crash. The recommendation came as part of the final investigation report released today (Sept. 3, 2025) on an Aug. 4, 2023, accident in Great Barrington, […]
NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit will take over operation and maintenance of the light rail River Line from current contract operator Alstom, a process beginning today, the agency and company have announced. The decision came “after several years of working closely together to assess the conditions of the River Line,” NJ Transit and Alstom said […]
SEATTLE — The Sound Transit board of directors has authorized a $92.7 million overhaul of the railcar fleet used in Sounder commuter rail service. At its meeting last week, the board approved a contract with a Systra-Brookville Joint Venture to perform the overhaul work, as well as a motion increasing available funding for the overhaul […]
NEW YORK — Long Island Rail Road engineers are holding a strike authorization vote, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has announced. The union says in a press release that its almost 600 members employed by the LIRR received ballots last week, with a voting deadline of 11 a.m. ET on Sept. 15, 2025. […]
WASHINGTON — An incorrectly lined switch led to an Aug. 5 collision between a BNSF Railway train and standing railcars at Denver’s Globeville Yard, a collision that seriously injured the train’s conductor, according to a preliminary investigation report from the National Transportation Safety Board. The incident occurred about 12:11 a.m., when BNSF Train H-LINDEN1-02A, which […]
SQUAMISH, British Columbia — The mayor of Squamish is asking British Columbia’s Minister of Transportation and Transit to convene consultations over Canadian National Railway’s plan to end operations on 214 miles of its former BC Rail line through Squamish. In Canada, consultations are a formal process to gather information and opinions from affected parties and […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — A shelter-in-place order has been lifted for Fort Worth residents living near the site of a Union Pacific derailment today (Aug., 31, 2025), according to the Fort Worth Fire Department. The Fire Department responded to the derailment at UP’s Davidson Yard southwest of downtown Fort Worth in about 10:40 a.m., and […]
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A planned extension of Metrolink commuter rail service to provide an option for commuters between Ventura and Santa Barbara counties will be delayed until at least January 2026, the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments was told at its most recent meeting. The SBCAG, Ventura County Transportation Authority, and Metrolink agreed […]
PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia judge has issued a temporary injunction preventing the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority from raising fares on Sept. 1 and making cuts to its Regional Rail service on Sept. 2. The order today (Aug. 29, 2025) by Judge Sierra Thomas-Street of the Court of Common Pleas also blocks layoffs, furloughs, and “all […]
SEATTLE — Sound Transit will open the next segment of its Link light rail system — the 1 Line extension to Federal Way, Wash. — on Dec. 6, the agency announced today (Aug. 28, 2025). The 7.8-mile addition will include new stations at Kent Des Moins, Star Lake, and Federal Way Downtown. “Today’s announcement on […]
CHICAGO — Transportation relevance of Midwest passenger trains has been growing, according to a \policy brief released today by De Paul University’s Chaddick Institute of Metropolitan Development. But the document says that growth is set for a slowdown if states don’t step up investment in more capacity and frequencies. Professor Joseph Schwieterman, who regularly follows […]
