News photos: Lincoln (locomotive) in Springfield

Red, maroon, and gray diesel with crowd at passenger station

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Abraham Lincoln — or at least the locomotive celebrating his memory — returned to Lincoln’s hometown of Springfield, Ill., today (Tuesday, July 1). Union Pacific’s Lincoln commemorative locomotive came to Springfield to celebrate the day Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act authorizing construction of the Transcontinential Railroad — the day UP recognizes […]

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MBTA railcar builder hit by seizure of components from China

Six-car train of rapid-transit equipmen

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s troubled deal with China’s CRRC for rapid-transit equipment has a new problem: components have been confiscated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. Public broadcaster WGBH reports railcar shells and other parts manufactured in China for completion at a plant in Springfield, Mass., have been seized by customs […]

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STB aims to check more items off its to-do list

Surface Transportation Board logo

WASHINGTON – Surface Transportation Board Chairman Patrick Fuchs provided an update today on efforts to clear a backlog of cases that have languished for years. The cases include: Colorado Landowners — Adverse Abandonment — Great Western Railway of Colorado, LLC, in Weld County, Colo.: On Oct. 5, 2022, a group of landowners filed an application […]

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InnoTrans to expand to Singapore

View of convention center complex

SINGAPORE — InnoTrans, the massive rail trade fair held in Berlin every other year, has announced it will launch an Asian edition in 2027. The new event will be held in the off years of the Berlin event. “InnoTrans Asia is an important addition to the world’s leading trade fair in Berlin and enriches our […]

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Rail projects included in $5 billion in California transportation funding

The California State Seal

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Transportation Commission will provide $685 million for passenger rail and other transit projects as part of more almost $5 billion in funding announced Friday (June 27, 2025) by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Freight infrastructure will also benefit. Nearly $2.44 million of the funding comes from the state’s Road Repair and Accountability […]

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Thomas the Tank Engine documentary to debut at UK rail event

smiling locomotive on track with people watching

DERBY, England — Thomas the Tank Engine is the subject of a new documentary, An Unlikely Fandom: The Impact of Thomas the Tank Engine. The film will premiere at this summer’s The Greatest Gathering event in Derby, part of the UK’s Railway 200 celebration. Thomas began his adventures in a book published in 1945, the […]

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