Digest: Biden to appear at Amtrak anniversary event

Amtrak logo.

President Biden to appear at Amtrak event in Philadelphia President Joe Biden will travel to Philadelphia on Friday to take part in Amtrak’s 50th anniversary celebration, the White House has announced. The New York Times reports Biden will appear at an event at 30th Street Station, promoting his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, as well as […]

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FRA obligates Rescue Plan funds to Amtrak, states

Diesel locomotive reflected in window of station with passenger on platform

WASHINGTON — The $1.69 billion Congress authorized for passenger rail economic stimulus relief when it passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 last month was formally conveyed to Amtrak Tuesday by U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “This new assistance for Amtrak will get employees back to work and restore service on routes […]

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Digest: DC Metro extends hours for sporting events

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DC Metro to extend service for those attending sporting events Beginning Tuesday, April 27, DC Metro will extend its service hours up to 30 minutes beyond normal closing time to serve passengers attending sporting events involving the area’s six professional sports teams, if the games run longer than expected. The “flex” schedule will waive fees […]

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News photos: Amtrak ‘Midnight Blue’ unit debuts

Dark blue locomotive

Tucked in behind P42 No 138 leading the westbound Cardinal, Amtrak P42 No 100 rolled into Chicago on Monday, fresh from repainting into the one-of-a-kind “Midnight Blue” color scheme [see “Behind Amtrak’s new locomotive designs,” Trains News Wire, March 18]. The two locomotives, baggage car, Superliner sleeping car, coach, and coach-baggage, fresh from refurbishing at […]

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News photo: Exo donates gallery coach to Exporail

Locomotive pulling two commuter coaches

Exo, the Montreal-area commuter railroad, has donated a gallery coach, to Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum in Saint-Constant, Quebec, on Montreal’s south shore. AMT No. 900 — the abbreviation refers to Exo predecessor Agence métropolitaine de transport — was moved to the museum on Friday from Exo’s Pointe St-Charles maintenance facility. The transit agency had […]

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Digest: Maryland county plans to take CSX bridge issue to STB

CSX logo

Allagany County, Md., plans to ask STB to intervene in bridge dispute with CSX The Allagany County, Md., Board of Commissioners will file a complaint against CSX Transportation with the Surface Transportation Board over a bridge closure in Cumberland, Md., saying the railroad has blocked any effort to address the issue, although the railroad says […]

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News and Analysis: Colorado commission advances Front Range plans

Electrified commuter train at station platform

DENVER – The last vestige of north-south passenger trains serving the Mile-High City disappeared 50 years ago when Santa Fe’s ragamuffin round trip to the east-west main line at La Junta, Colo., didn’t transition to Amtrak. But work is well under way to change that. The Southwest Chief and Front Range Passenger Rail Commission is […]

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Digest: Amtrak adds carbon-savings information to NEC tickets

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Amtrak tickets on Northeast Corridor will now show carbon-emission savings Amtrak will add information on carbon-emission savings to Northeast Corridor tickets, showing how much they saved by not driving and by not flying. On the electrified route between Boston and Washington, D.C., Amtrak says use of its trains produces 83% less emissions than driving and […]

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Digest: Aberdeen Carolina & Western, Savage combine on locomotive rebuilds

Two locomotives nose-to-nose

Aberdeen Carolina & Western rebuilds six locomotives for Savage North Carolina’s Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railway and rail operations and logistics company Savage Services have combined to rebuild six locomotives for a Houston industrial facility. The four SD40-2 and two MP15 were rebuilt at the AC&W’s shops under the direction of Steven Weathers, the railroad’s […]

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