Top 10 stories of 2022: No. 1, Rail labor and the near strike

People holding signs while standing on sidewalk

The conclusion of our countdown of the Trains News Wire Top 10 stories of 2022, as determined by a vote of Trains editors, columnists, and masthead correspondents. Railroads were catapulted into national headlines in the fall as labor negotiations came down to the wire, raising the prospect of the first strike or lockout in three […]

Read More…

Two NYC electrics are safe, await relocation to museum

Two graffiti-covered electric locomotives on platform

GLENMONT, N.Y. — Two historic New York Central electric locomotives are finally safe after a 4½-hour ballet to lift and shift them 200 feet on a Hudson River island on which they were stranded, dodging a torrent of heavy truck traffic. The Danbury (Conn.) Railway Museum announced Thursday night (Dec. 29) that Phase 1 of […]

Read More…

Grand Central Madison opening pushed back into 2023

Two people wearing Yankees baseball caps walking in long corridor

NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will miss its self-imposed deadline to begin Long Island Rail Road service to its new station beneath Grand Central Terminal by the end of 2022, the agency has conceded. NY1 reports that opening of the Grand Central Madison station — which will mark completion of the long-delayed and […]

Read More…

Are there many coal gondolas in the US left?

How many coal hoppers are currently in the U.S.? With the decline in use of coal-fired power plants, can any of these cars be re-purposed?

Cody discusses how many coal gondolas in the US remain, and the different ways railroads repurpose the remaining coal gondolas in the US as domestic coal production declines. Are you looking to learn more about your model railroad, or do you have questions about full-size trains? Send us an email at: AskTrains@trains.com ………………………………… Ask Trains […]

Read More…

Maryland agency, CSX reach settlement over Curtis Bay explosion

Smoke rising from coal facility

BALTIMORE — The Maryland Department of the Environment and CSX Transportation have reached a settlement over charges stemming from a December 2021 explosion at the railroad’s Curtis Bay Coal Piers, with CSX required to pay $100,000 for an environmental project in the neighborhood where the blast occurred. The railroad will also pay a $15,000 penalty […]

Read More…

Top 10 stories of 2022, No. 4: Amtrak cutbacks and service issues

Passenger train is blurred by time-lapse photo at station

Although transportation demand surged during 2022, Amtrak was unable to accommodate much of it outside the Northeast Corridor. Long-distance frequencies cut Attributing cancellations to a surge in the COVID-19 Omicron variant in early January, management began cutbacks that constricted the ability of travelers to include Amtrak in their plans. Most significant was suspension of the […]

Read More…

Top 10 stories of 2022, No. 5: Gulf Coast passenger conflict

Passenger train crossing long bridge at dusk

Continuing our countdown of the Trains News Wire Top 10 stories of 2022, as determined by a vote of Trains editors, columnists, and masthead correspondents: A lengthy and acrimonious process finally produced a settlement between Amtrak, Norfolk Southern, CSX Transportation, and Alabama State Port Authority late in the year, providing a framework to bring passenger […]

Read More…