Bourdon joins New York, Susquehanna & Western as general counsel

Head-and-shoulders image of woman with red hair in white blouse and black coat

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Katherine Bourdon has been appointed as general counsel for the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway, the railroad announced this week. The appointment was effective Aug. 20. Bourdon has more than 20 years of experience in railroads and transportation, including 15 years as an attorney. She will lead the railroad’s legal affairs, […]

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Amtrak honors CPKC for host-railroad performance

Two passenger trains meeting on straight track

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Amtrak has recognized CPKC as its top host railroad in 2024, the ninth straight year the company or predecessor Canadian Pacific has topped the annual host railroad report card. CPKC was the only railroad to receive an “A” grade on the 2024 report card, although the other five Class I rairloads […]

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FTA seeks changes to Capital Investment Grants program

Trains Washington Watch logo

WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration will seek to remove one of the environmental components from its Capital Investment Grants program, FTA administrator Marc Molinaro said today (Aug. 21, 2025). The revision will remove “social cost of carbon” calculations from the ratings criteria used to award those grants — the federal government’s largest program to […]

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Philadelphia makes plans for SEPTA cuts

Map of SEPTA rail network showing lines to be cut

PHILADELPHIA  —  The City of Philadelphia has announced measures it will take when the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority begins enacting major service cuts this Sunday (Aug. 24, 2025). Meanwhile, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has announced new transit options for those in neighboring South Jersey. “We all know the best way to keep the region […]

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FTA says it could withhold funds from New York MTA over subway safety issues

Workers in subway tunnel

WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration on Tuesday warned it could take actions against New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority — including withholding 25% of the transit agency’s federal funding — over what the FTA called New York City Transit’s failure to address safety risks for subway track maintenance workers. The FTA issued a special directive […]

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Booking on NextGen Acela trains now possible

Amtrak logo.

NEW YORK — Amtrak is now offering tickets on Northeast Corridor trains that will debut the long-delayed NextGen Acela trainsets, and has announced which trains will feature the equipment, as well as highlighting those trains with a “NextGen” icon on the booking portion of its website and app. The company announced that addition to its […]

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Congressman says SEPTA cuts could endanger Amtrak’s Keystone Service

blue and silver passenger train passes brick tower

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania Congressman says he has been told that Amtrak’s Keystone Service — the Harrisburg-Philadelphia-New York route offering 13 weekday round trips — could be in jeopardy if state legislators don’t address the funding crisis that has the Southeastern Regional Transportation Authority planning major service cuts. The online news site Pennsylvania Capital-Star […]

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Thoughts on the Lionel 2025 Volume 2 catalog

catalog page with diesel locomotives

Lionel Trains continued celebrating their 125th anniversary with the release of their Volume 2 catalog in mid July.    First, an interesting note: the second Lionel catalog has typically been called Volume 2. This one was called “July Release.” I wonder if there will be another catalog release before the end of the year? Stay […]

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