News photo: New paint for an Amtrak veteran

Locomotive with red and two tones of blue paint leading passenger train

Amtrak is beginning to give its General Electric locomotive fleet a look in keeping with its newer units. Fresh from an overhaul at the Beech Grove Heavy Maintenance Facility, Amtrak P42 No. 174, manufactured in 2001, sports a variation of the paint scheme the company uses on its new Siemens Charger locomotives as it leads the […]

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California Zephyr derails in Colorado after grade-crossing collision

Amtrak logo.

KEENESBURG, Colo. — Amtrak’s eastbound California Zephyr derailed Monday night after striking a truck at a grade crossing northeast of Denver, KDVR-TV reports. Amtrak said that “no serious customer injuries” occurred in the collision and derailment that occurred about 10 p.m. east of Keenesburg, according to the Colorado State Patrol, although an exact number was […]

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Slide activity again halts Amtrak Cascades service (updated)

White locomotive with green and brown trim on passenger train

SEATTLE — For the second consecutive weekend, Amtrak Cascades service has been disrupted between Portland and Seattle because of a landslide. According to an Amtrak service advisory, all Cascade trains are cancelled today (Saturday, Jan. 27) and Sunday, Jan. 28, between Seattle and Portland with alternate transportation (buses) provided. Coast Starlight trains with originate or […]

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Downeaster’s Rockland branch experiment encounters equipment snag, Amtrak involvement delays (updated)

RDCs parked next to building

BRUNSWICK, Maine — A proposal to use a Rail Diesel Car to offer year-round connections on a former Maine Central branch line from Rockland, Maine to a rendezvous with Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority’s Amtrak-operated Downeaster at Brunswick, Maine, is being re-evaluated after the RDC suffered a debilitating breakdown last fall. Midcoast Railservice, the carrier with […]

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Senate confirms three nominees for Amtrak board

Man speaking at hearing

WASHINGTON — For the first time in more than eight years, the Amtrak board of directors has new members. The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed the nominations of Christopher Koos, Anthony Coscia, and Joel Szabat to serve on the board, the first time the Senate has confirmed board members since 2015. Koos, the mayor of […]

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Mudslide closes Cascades route as Midwest cancellations near end

Passenger train at sunset. Amtrak cancellations mudslide snow

PORTLAND, Ore. — The latest in Amtrak’s series of weather-related operating cancellations in the Pacific Northwest and Midwest — caused by a mudslide, cold, and snow — will extend until at least Tuesday morning, based on information available as of Sunday evening, Jan. 21. A mudslide south of Kelso, Wash., on BNSF Railway’s Amtrak Cascades […]

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Amtrak Midwest routes see three days of cancellations

Diesel with front caked with snow crosses diamond

CHICAGO — Amtrak Midwest state-supported services have taken another weather-related hit, with cancellations today through Monday for a trains on a number of routes. In an update posted at 9 a.m. today (Saturday, Jan. 20), Amtrak announced these trains have been cancelled in their entirety: Lincoln Service (Chicago-St. Louis) — Today, Sunday, and Monday: Trains […]

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STB seeks answers for delay on Gulf Coast settlement: Analysis

aerial view of land along railroad tracks near water

WASHINGTON —The Surface Transportation Board has called for Amtrak, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and the Port of Mobile, Ala., to provide “detailed information regarding the status of the implementation of the settlement agreement” agreed to in November 2022 to allow Amtrak service to begin between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. — and scheduled a February hearing […]

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Amtrak cancellations expand to Acela    

High speed train passing through station

WASHINGTON — With the first significant snow of the season sweeping into the East Coast on Thursday, Amtrak cancelled 12 Acela Northeast Corridor departures, although no Northeast Regional trains were dropped. Three of the cancelled round-trips were scheduled Boston-Washington, and three were New York-Washington, plus an additional departure of the Washington-New York portion of Acela […]

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