GOLETA, Calif. — Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner resumed service between Goleta and San Luis Obispo on Monday, Jan. 30, following a two-week suspension. The updated schedule of service to and from San Luis Obispo is available here. Operations north of Goleta had been suspended while Union Pacific repaired a storm-damaged trestle on the grounds of Vandenberg […]
SALT LAKE CITY — The Arizona Spike, one of four created for ceremonies marking the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, sold for $2.22 million in an auction that concluded last week, far more than had been anticipated. KSL-TV reports Christie’s had set a pre-auction estimate of $300,000 to $500,000 for the spike, with […]
POCATELLO, Idaho — Cleanup continued Monday after 25 railcars derailed at Union Pacific’s yard in Pocatello Sunday night, the Idaho State Journal reports. The accident occurred about 11 p.m. No injuries were reported and mainline operations were not affected. No hazardous materials were involved. The railroad said the cause of the derailment was under investigation. […]
BALTIMORE — President Joe Biden today announced that the project to replace the Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel, a Northeast Corridor bottleneck dating to 1873, will receive more than $4 billion in federal infrastructure funding. “The structure is deteriorating. The roof is leaking. The floor is sinking. This is the United States of America, for God’s […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific has asked the Surface Transportation Board to order mediation in response to Amtrak’s request for an investigation into its handling of the Sunset Limited, and says the current Sunset schedule is the root cause of the train’s problems. In a Friday filing with the STB, UP asserts that the Sunset schedule […]
BALTIMORE — President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Baltimore this afternoon to announce funding and labor agreements for the project to replace the Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel, the 150-year-old route into Baltimore Penn Station that is a major bottleneck on the Northeast Corridor. Biden is scheduled to speak about 2:45 p.m. EST, WMAR-TV reports. […]
MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada has issued a formal request for information from potential manufacturers of locomotives and passenger cars who might be interested in re-equipping the company’s long distance and regional remote passenger trains. VIA’s appeal comes as Amtrak is evaluating responses received from a similar invitation [see “Amtrak seeks carbuilder interest …,” Trains […]
KEACHI, La. — Residents evacuated because of a Union Pacific derailment Friday night were allowed to return home Sunday evening, KSLA-TV reports, after leaks in two tank cars were contained. A total of 16 cars derailed Friday night in Keachi, about 30 miles southwest of Shreveport, La. Leaks from two of those cars, involving acetic […]
The J.D. Irving Ltd. short lines in New Brunswick and Maine have added five more locomotives to their fleet of refurbished SD70M-2s. The first six units were delivered starting in June 2021 [see “Locomotive news: First New Brunswick Southern Railway locomotive refurbished,” Trains News Wire, July, 2021]. Four of the second group of locomotives are […]
CLEVELAND — A new effort is being launched to link downtown Cleveland and Cuyahoga Valley National Park by extending Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad service, Cleveland.com and the Cleveland Plain Dealer report. In a meeting last week, the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency and other groups reached agreement on roles and responsibilities to advance the project, […]
PETALUMA, Calif. — A California Supreme Court ruling will allow Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit to resume construction of a 3-mile extension north to a station in Windsor, Calif., the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reports. Last week’s 7-0 ruling by the court ended a long-running court fight by the Howard Jarvis Tax Association seeking to overturn a […]
KEACHI, La. — About 130 people are under an evacuation order today (Saturday, Jan. 28) after a Union Pacific train derailed near Shreveport, La., Friday night and began leaking hazardous materials, the Associated Press reports. Approximately 16 cars derailed about 10:30 p.m. in Keachi (also spelled as Keatchie), about 30 miles southwest of Shreveport. Louisiana […]
