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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Digest: Effort to restart Chicago-Rockford passenger service takes step forward

More Friday morning rail news: Project manager selected for Chicago-Rockford passenger effort The long-running effort to restore passenger rail service between Chicago and Rockford has moved forward, with the Illinois Department of Transportation hiring engineering services firm WSP USA as the proposal’s project manager. The Rockford Register Star reports state Sen. Steve Stadelman announced the […]

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MTA workers suspended over secret ‘man cave’ at Grand Central

NEW YORK — Three Metropolitan Transportation Authority workers have been suspended without pay and face potential termination after building a secret “man cave” under the tracks of New York’s Grand Central Terminal. A report by the Office of the MTA Inspector General says the men used the room — complete with big-screen TV, refrigerator, microwave […]

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Man at work

Man at work

Conductors had a tremendous amount of paperwork to complete, not to mention dealing with unhappy passengers, equipment problems, train schedules, and seating issues. Photo by Norfolk & Western […]

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