Digest: Surfrider Foundation, residents file opposition to transit agency’s request with STB

Tuesday morning rail news: Surfrider Foundation, residents file opposition to transit district’s request before STB The environmental group Surfrider Foundation has filed its opposition with the Surface Transportation Board to the North County Transit District’s request for an order protecting its right to perform track maintenance along the Pacific Coast, saying the order would “result […]

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Digest: Miami-Dade delays vote on stations for Brightline commuter service

Tuesday afternoon rail news: Miami-Dade delays vote on preferred station locations for Brightline commuter operation A planned vote on station locations for Miami’s proposed commuter rail service between downtown and Aventura, Fla., using Brightline’s route was put off Tuesday, after Miami-Dade County Commissioner Joe Martinez exercised his right to delay last-minute legislation. The Miami Herald reports the […]

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MBTA subway car order falls a year behind schedule

New subway cars from a U.S. plant of Chinese manufacturer CRRC will be delayed by at least a year, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officials said Monday. MassLive.com reports the cars for the MBTA’s Orange Line are now expected to be delivered by April 2023. The agency has received 24 cars from a 152-car contract awarded in 2014, […]

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Pointless Arrow

Amtrak's first system timetable

On May 1, 1971, Amtrak Passenger Service Rep Patty Saunders, who once was a Seaboard Coast Line hostess, poses with the first system timetable. The passenger carrier’s “pointless arrow” logo is featured prominently. Photo by Amtrak […]

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Digest: Valley Metro orders Siemens light rail vehicles

Thursday midday rail news: Valley Metro orders 14 new Siemens light rail vehicles Phoenix-area transit agency Valley Metro has ordered 14 S700 light rail vehicles from Siemens Mobility to join 11 of the trainsets already in service. The equipment, to be built in Sacramento, Calif., will help accommodate the needs of an expanding system, and […]

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Biden plans short whistle-stop tour of Ohio, Pennsylvania

Presidential candidate Joe Biden is set to operate a campaign train across Ohio and Pennsylvania and Ohio on Wednesday, following tonight’s first debate with President Donald Trump in Cleveland. After departing Cleveland, Biden’s train is scheduled to stop in Alliance, Ohio, with a tentative time of 11:45 a.m., according to WFMJ-TV. While Biden will make […]

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VIA Rail indefinitely postpones restart of Ocean, Canadian

Stainless steel dome-observation on passenger train

MONTREAL – VIA Rail Canada has postponed resumption of its triweekly Halifax-Montreal Ocean and twice-weekly Toronto-Vancouver, British Columbia, Canadian indefinitely, according to a news release issued last Friday and Trains News Wire reservation center inquiries. This is contrary to the passenger carrier’s addition of trains to its Quebec City-Windsor, Ontario, corridor. Sleeping car service will […]

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STB denies Metra request for declaratory order

Surface Transportation Board logo

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Surface Transportation Board has denied Metra’s request for a declaratory order and proceeding in its ongoing dispute with Union Pacific over Chicago area commuter operations. The decision follows a U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruling to keep a UP lawsuit against Metra, noting that the court does […]

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Remembering the Pacific Electric Railway

A pair of couples streetcars or interurban cars exit a tunnel.

By G. Mac Sebree History of the Pacific Electric Railway By any standard, the Pacific Electric was the largest interurban electric railway in the United States. It boasted more than 1,000 miles of track and had 1,000-plus cars. It played a major role in building up the vast open areas surrounding Los Angeles. The cities […]

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