Tuesday morning rail news: Metra board to vote on proposal to lower fares on two lines Fares on the Metra Electric and Rock Island District lines would drop to $2.50 per ride, the same as those for Chicago Transit Authority L service, under a proposal by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. The Fair Transit […]
TREGO, Wis. — More than 100 visitors, some from as far away as Ohio and Kansas, were on hand at the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad this weekend to mark the 85th anniversary of the christening of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy’s Mark Twain Zephyr and see progress in the restoration of the shovel-nosed streamliner. The train’s dedication […]
San Diego’s North County Transit District has ordered two more Siemens Charger locomotives, bringing to nine the number the agency will use to power its Coaster commuter trains. The order marks Siemens’ 300th passenger locomotive sold in North America, and will allow the district to nearly double frequencies of Coaster service. “In addition to increasing […]
The proposed high speed rail operation between Southern California and Las Vegas has been rebranded as Brightline West and has launched a website with details on construction of the project, along with a virtual public meeting for information and comments. The site reports construction will be broken into six segments, three in California and three in Nevada. […]
More Monday morning rail news: NJ Transit PTC extended revenue testing is in progress on eight of 12 lines NJ Transit says it is now testing positive train control on 66% of its track-miles as it works to meet the Dec. 31, 2020, deadline for PTC implementation. NJ.com reports that eight of the agency’s 12 commuter rail […]
Still more Monday morning rail news: Brightline to begin work on Tampa route in 2022; reaching Disney World a priority Work on Brightline’s planned Orlando-Tampa line line will not begin until 2022, with a goal of operation beginning in 2025. The Tampa Bay Business Journal reports Michael Cegelis, Brightline’s executive vice president of rail infrastructure, laid out […]
RYDE, England — Railcars originally built for London’s “Tube” subway during World War II but still in service are about to be retired. The 80-year-old trains are used on the railway on the Isle of Wight — a large island just off England’s south coast near the naval port city of Portsmouth. In January 2021 […]
More Thursday midday rail news: NJ Transit board approves $2.6 billion operating budget NJ Transit’s board has approved a $2.6 billion operating budget for 2021 — a figure representing a 10% increase made possible by coronavirus relief funds. NorthJersey.com reports some $955 in federal CARES act funding will help offset $860 million in revenue losses from decreased […]
MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada will resume service on the Vancouver-Winnipeg portion of the route of its flagship train, the Canadian, as of Dec. 11. In a Tuesday press release announcing the service, the passenger operator said it would offer one round trip per week between those cities, while observing health and safety measures including social distancing, […]
Wednesday morning rail news: DC Metro tampered with evidence of train separation, safety commission says Evidence relating to the separation of a moving DC Metro train earlier this month was tampered with during the investigation, according to the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission. The Washington Post reports that between the initial investigation incident on Oct. 9 and the […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak is projecting fiscal 2021 ridership of just 9 million, a 72% decline from 2019’s record 32.5 million passengers, CEO William Flynn told members of the Senate Commerce Committee, who expressed skepticism and concern over the move to three-day-a-week service for most long-distance trains. In testimony submitted Wednesday morning, Flynn qualifies his estimate […]
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