STEWARTSTOWN, Pa. — A rural, farm-to-market short line that struggled to survive through floods and legal challenges is getting ready to celebrate its 140th anniversary. Chartered in September 1884 and opened a year later, the 7.4-mile-long Stewartstown Railroad tourist carrier in south-central Pennsylvania is marking one of the longest-lived U.S. rail operations under its original […]
WATERBURY, Conn. — It could take up to five weeks and several million dollars to repair severe flood damage on Metro-North Railroad’s Waterbury Branch, officials said during a Thursday tour of damage on the commuter rail line. Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi said the damage from the storm on Sunday, Aug. 18, that halted operations caused […]
PORTLAND, Maine — Following a pair of community outreach sessions that began last April, the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority has settled on a site for a relocated Portland station that would eliminate the time-consuming backup move for Downeaster service that dates to its launch in December 2001. The agency is soliciting further public […]
WATERBURY, Conn. — Service on Metro-North Railroad’s Waterbury Branch remains suspended following significant flood damage to the route on Sunday, Aug. 18, while Danbury Branch service was restored in time for the evening rush today (Monday, Aug. 19), the Metropolitan Transportation Authority reports. Waterbury Branch damage includes a significant mudslide between the Seymour and Ansonia […]
NEW YORK — Amtrak service between New York and Philadelphia has resumed late this evening (Aug. 18) after being halted by flooding, while NJ Transit and Metro-North Railroad have also reported flood-related service suspensions. Amtrak, in a notice posted to its website at 10:25 p.m. ET, said it had “released the hold on all tracks” […]
NESQUEHONING, Pa. — Port Clinton, Pa., based-Reading & Northern officially opened the newest station for its busy passenger excursion business on Saturday, Aug. 17, holding a ceremony for the new facility on its Nesquehoning campus that also includes training and mechanical facilities. The ribbon-cutting preceded an excursion featuring former Reading Co. T-1 4-8-4 No. 2102, […]
NEW YORK — The Federal Transit Administration this week issued a special directive ordering the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to address “an escalating pattern of safety incidents” regarding workers in the New York subway system, citing 38 near-miss incidents in 2023 in addition to a worker fatality in November 2023 and an incident involving a serious […]
Pennsylvania Railroad B6sb 0-6-0 5244 simmers inside the road’s roundhouse at Camden, N.J., on October 4, 1958. PRR stopped using steam locomotives nearly a year previously, but 5244 hung on until mid-1959 on lease to New Jersey short line Union Transportation Co. Frank Kozempel photo […]
TRENTON, N.J. — NJ Transit will observe a “fare holiday” Aug. 26 to Sept. 2, offering free rides on all modes across its network, Gov. Phil Murphy announced today (Thursday, Aug. 15). The move is described as a “thank you” to riders for their continued patronage, particularly in light of ongoing service issues. NJ Transit […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority on Wednesday exercised an option to purchase 41 bilevel commuter railcars from Hyundai Rotem, adding to an earlier order for 83 of the cars. “As we continue to see a strong return of our ridership on commuter rail, investing in our rolling stock allows us to not only […]
WASHINGTON — The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association has appointed Nicole Brewin as vice president of congressional affairs. Brewin will be leading the congressional affairs team at Washington-based ASLRRA, which represents 600 short-line and regional railroads, organizing legislative support for issues facing the industry, including investment in infrastructure, and surface transportation and tax policy. […]
NEWINGTON, Conn. — Trains will be replaced by buses on Metro-North’s Danbury Branch Aug. 23-25 to accommodate a switch replacement project, the Connecticut Department of Transportation has announced. Buses will replace trains between Danbury and South Norwalk. They will operate earlier than the scheduled trains they replace, and will serve all stations between those two […]
