Action may be required on your Trains.com account in order to continue accessing content. Click here to learn more.
SACRAMENTO — The California High-Speed Rail Authority has awarded its first contract for design of stations on the initial segment of the rail operation in the state’s Central Valley. The Fresno Bee reports the board has awarded a $35.3 million, 30-month contract for preliminary site planning and design for stations in Fresno, Merced, Hanford, and […]
PETALUMA, Calif. — The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit Board has approved funding to build a second station in the city of Petaluma, which has been part of the plan for the rail service since its initial planning. The Marin Independent Journal reports the board on Wednesday voted to budget $14 million for the Petaluma North […]
REDLANDS, Calif. — San Bernardino County’s Arrow rail service, connecting Redlands to downtown San Bernardino and a connection with Metrolink commuter rail service, will begin revenue service on Monday, Oct. 24, the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority has announced. The 9-mile, five-station route will debut with Stadler diesel multiple-unit trainsets offering service between Redlands and […]
When the prolific and influential California photographer Stan Kistler won the Railway & Locomotive Society’s prestigious Fred A. and Jane R. Stindt Photography Award in 1996, he earned what might be considered the ultimate citation for a photographer: “He has not only documented the railroads of the West, but crafted beautiful images that will last […]
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — It could still be as long as mid-January before passenger rail service resumes through the section of South Orange County where traffic has been stopped by an unstable slope next to the railroad tracks, the Times of San Diego reports. The news site reports the Orange County Transportation Authority has finalized […]
Model railroad operations weekends offer a fun way to learn about others’ layouts, meet new people, and if you’re a magazine editor, find new model railroads to feature in the magazine. At the beginning of summer 2022, I headed west to SoCalOps, an operating weekend centered around the Simi Valley in suburban Los Angeles. I […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A 34-year-old man who lost his legs when hit by an Amtrak train is suing the passenger operator, a Marysville, Calif., hospital, and doctor at that hospital, saying they are responsible for his injuries — and seeks more than $32 million in damages in a federal trial that began Thursday in Sacramento. […]
LOS ANGELES — Travelers who choose business class on the Pacific Surfliner route between San Diego and San Luis Obispo, Calif., have always enjoyed more bang for the extra bucks. That’s because Surfliner’s version includes wine, snack packs, and morning pastries as well as soft drinks, coffee, and juice — all served by an attendant […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Department of Transportation and Siemens Mobility said last week that Caltrans has accepted the first seven of 49 Venture cars destined for Bakersfield-Oakland/Sacramento San Joaquin trains. No date is set for the cars’ entry into revenue service, however — in part because Amtrak must also make final inspections and formally […]
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — State and Orange County officials have declared a state of emergency over the instability that has closed the rail line along the Pacific Coast in San Clemente, allowing them to approve $6 million in repairs, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Passenger and commuter rail service along the Surf Line could resume […]
BARSTOW, Calif. — BNSF Railway has announced plans for what it is calling the first master-planned rail facility built by a Class I railroad — costing more than $1.5 billion and including a rail yard, intermodal facility, and warehouses for transloading from international to domestic containers. The Barstow International Gateway, to be on the west […]
SAN DIEGO — The interruption of passenger service between South Orange County and Oceanside, Calif, could last for two months, an official with San Diego’s planning agency told broadcaster KPBS. Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner and LA-area commuter operator Metrolink halted service through San Clemente, Calif., on Friday, over concerns about erosion along a portion of the […]
