NS starts scholarship program to attract skilled trade workers

ATLANTA – Norfolk Southern has launched a Trades on Track scholarship program to help the railroad attract vocational students to its workforce. The $5,000 scholarships can be used for tuition, computer equipment, tools, and other expenses for people living in any one of the 22 states that NS serves. Atlanta-based SkillPointe Foundation is overseeing the […]

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Amtrak trims management workforce

Two Amtrak Acela trains under catenary wire on a multi-track mainline.

WASHINGTON – Amtrak said today that it has eliminated 450 management positions as it looks to cut costs and reach operational profitability by 2028. The cutback equals just over 10% of Amtrak’s management jobs, the railroad said in a memo to employees. “We took the difficult step of informing about 250 people that their positions […]

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U.S. rail volumes remain strong into May

A line of white-painted railroad tank cars with a swath of green grass in the foreground, framed by a tree branch

U.S. weekly rail traffic for the week ending May 3 totaled 498,693 carloads and intermodal units, up 7.6 percent compared with the same week last year, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).  Carloads totaled 225,641 units, up 5.6 percent compared to prior year, and intermodal volume totaled 273,052 containers and trailers, up 9.4 […]

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NJ Transit and largest union reach agreement

Electric train arriving at a station

Newark, N.J. — According to a joint May 7 press release, NJ Transit and its largest labor union, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), have reached a tentative contract agreement. NJ Transit is the nation’s third largest provider of bus, rail, and light rail transit, linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia. The […]

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Should you go with code 100 or code 83 track?

scale graphic

Track selection is among the first decisions you’ll have to make when you get started in model railroading, second only to scale. In HO (1:87.1), the two most commonly used track sizes are code 100 and code 83. “Code” refers to the height of the rail, measured in thousandths of an inch. For a lot […]

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AAR urges DOT to drop two-person crew rule, streamline other regulations

Crew member riding on locomotive steps

WASHINGTON – The Association of American Railroads has asked the Department of Transportation to scuttle the Federal Railroad Administration’s two-person train crew rule. “For too long, outdated, arbitrary regulations have stood in the way of implementing data-backed solutions that can further strengthen railroads’ already remarkable safety record,” AAR CEO Ian Jefferies said in a statement. […]

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Bill to slash Dallas-Fort Worth transit funding advances in Texas House

Light-rail train at end-of-line station with a departing train in the distance

DALLAS – A bill advancing through the Texas legislature threatens to dismantle the public transportation system in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Dallas Area Rapid Transit said yesterday. “This bill isn’t a tweak to funding. It’s a full-on dismantling of the DART system,” said DART’s chief communications officer, Jeamy Molina. “The people of North Texas voted […]

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Amtrak delays East River Tunnel project by two weeks

Interior of railroad tunnel

Amtrak will delay the start of the construction on the East River Tunnel Rehabilitation project by two weeks after learning the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) East-Bound reroute project is delayed. The three-year project calls for repairing two of the tunnel’s four tubes, which were damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, with one tube removed […]

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