CHICAGO — Amtrak will operate modified schedules for two Illinois Service trains to allow passengers to better view the solar eclipse coming up on April 8, the passenger operator has announced. On that day, Saluki train No. 391 will depart Chicago earlier, at 6:35 a.m., arriving at Carbondale, Ill., at 12:05 p.m. to reach the […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth (both D-Ill.) met with Canadian National Railway CEO Tracy Robinson on Tuesday to discuss the railroad’s involvement in the Chicago Hub Improvement Program, the plan to modernize Chicago Union Station and rail routes leading to the station. U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Chicago) also participated in the […]
CHICAGO — Passengers who drifted in to the westbound California Zephyr’s crowded Sightseer Lounge leaving Chicago on Tuesday found themselves in the middle of an Amtrak-sponsored onboard event commemorating the first runs of the original Burlington-Rio Grande-Western Pacific streamliner on March 20, 1949. They were treated to an informative lecture by Thomas Whitt, director and […]
PHILADELPHIA — Amtrak has begun a $122 million project to improve its Harrisburg line between Lancaster, Pa., and Harrisburg, a project that will see some trains replaced by a bus bridge on that 36-mile segment four days a week for more than six months beginning April 8. Those outages, along with schedule adjustments at other […]
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Regular Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink commuter rail service through San Clemente is slated to resume Monday, March 25, after two months of disruptions because of the latest in a series of landslides along the Surf Line in the South Orange County community. The Orange County Transportation Authority announced today (Tuesday, […]
PRINCETON, Ill. — Amtrak marked the 75th anniversary of the launch of the California Zephyr today (Tuesday, March 19) with ceremonies in Chicago, Princeton, and Galesburg, Ill., as well as onboard today’s westbound departure from Chicago. In Princeton, at least 50 people were on hand when the train arrived to sing “Happy Anniversary” for the […]
DEL MAR, Calif. — Construction will begin this month on a three-year, $78 million project to stabilize the Del Mar Bluffs along the Surf Line rail line, the Times of San Diego reports. The segment along the Pacific Ocean has long been a source of erosion and occasional line closures on the route used by […]
WASHINGTON — Parties in the settlement intended to lead to the start of Gulf Coast passenger service said in a status report to the Surface Transportation Board that negotiations between Amtrak and the city of Mobile for a lease of downtown city land “are continuing to move forward.” The report filed Friday by Amtrak, Norfolk […]
Amtrak GP7 diesel locomotives served for decades in supporting roles for America’s passenger carrier throughout its network. Electro-Motive Division produced the 1,500-hp, four-axle GP7 from 1946 through 1958, making a total of 2,729 units, including five cabless B units, for more than 40 railroads. By the time Amtrak needed more support motive power […]
Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, stretching between Washington, D.C. and Boston, Mass., is one of the heaviest trafficked passenger railroads in the United States. Owned by Amtrak, and operated under electric catenary, the Northeast Corridor is America’s high-speed rail mainline. Travel along with Trains.com as we go trackside in Connecticut and Rhode Island to view a parade […]
WASHINGTON — Projects in Illinois, Louisiana, and North Carolina have received a total of $900,000 in planning and development funding under the Federal Railroad Administration’s Interstate Rail Compacts grant program, the FRA announced today (Thursday, March 14). Compacts are agreements between two or more states to support development of intercity passenger rail services that can […]
ORANGE, Calif. — The Orange County Transportation Authority is considering a proposal to build a $200 million, half-mile-long wall along the Surf Line right-of-way to address slide issues that have repeatedly closed the rail route since 2021 — but the city of San Clemente has reservations about the idea. Meanwhile, work continues on the temporary […]
