WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s rail-related spending — including billions of dollars in funding for Amtrak — appears to be affected by President Donald Trump’s order freezing spending on thousands of federal assistance programs. However, the freeze itself is now on hold following a ruling from a federal judge staying the order while […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will increase top operating speeds on the rapid transit Red Line’s Braintree Branch from 40 mph to 50 mph as a result of last year’s Track Improvement Program, the agency has announced. “Reaching this milestone is a testament to the hard work of our team,” MBTA CEO Phillip […]
In Chicago, an observation car originally built for Great Northern’s 1947 Empire Builder is ready for its first run on the Western Star in June 1951. The trains utilized Chicago, Burlington & Quincy trackage east of Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Wallace W. Abbey photo […]
SAN CARLOS, Calif. — Caltrain continues to see a ridership boost following the shift to electrified operation, with service up 41% in December compared to the same month a year earlier. The commuter rail operator recorded more than 588,000 riders in December, up from 416,000 in December 2023. The average weekday ridership of just over […]
Recent rail union news: — Amtrak dining car stewards represented by the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division (SMART-TD) unanimously ratified a new agreement, retroactive to July 1, 2022 and running through Dec. 1, 2028, that will provide a compounded raise of 40.21% over the life of the contract. Other […]
WASHINGTON — Norfolk Southern today asked a federal court to dismiss the Justice Department’s lawsuit over the railroad’s handling of Amtrak’s Crescent, arguing that the government’s “extreme” interpretation of passenger train right of preference doesn’t hold water. NS says the Justice Department “complaint depends on the idea that freight railroads must totally clear their tracks […]
News & Products for the week of January 27th 2025 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of January 27th, […]
BOONTON, N.J. – Construction work in Amtrak’s East River Tunnels will indefinitely sideline the United Railroad Historical Society’s Hudson River Rail Excursions after trips scheduled for February and March with the group’s former New York Central lounge cars. The historical society will operate “Farewell (For Now) Excursions” from New York Penn Station to Albany-Rensselaer, N.Y., […]
NEW YORK — The president of New York City’s chapter of the Transport Workers Union has resigned following allegations of sexual misconduct, the union announced. In a statement on its website, TWU Local 100 said that Richard Davis cited health reasons for his resignation, but that TWU International President John Samuelsen had suspended Davis following […]
LAS VEGAS — Brightline West no longer expects to launch operations in time to capitalize on visitors to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, according to a company bond offering. KTNV-TV reports that the 1,200 pages of documents related to that bond offering indicate that passenger service is now likely to begin in December […]
SEATTLE — Growing reliability issues with the expanding Link light rail system have led Sound Transit CEO Goran Sparrman to declare “the existence of an emergency” in the system, which will allow the agency to move more quickly to address operational issues. The Seattle Times reports the emergency declaration made on Jan. 21 is a […]
NEWARK, N.J. — An Amtrak employee has pleaded guilty to participation in a health-care scheme that defrauded the passenger operator’s health plan of more than $11 million. Rodolfo Rivera, 41, of Clayton, Del., pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of […]
