A Series 6 Talgo trainset is examined after 125-mph operation at the Transportation Test Center in Pueblo, Colo., in 1998. Bob Johnston Q: In the Sept. 2019 Passenger column on Page 18, I see that a Series 6 Talgo locomotive is leaning while being inspected. Was that tilt normal? — Robert Muckey, Williamson, N.Y. A: […]
The Ocean View attracts attention on Amtrak’s Gulf Coast inspection train at Lake City, Fla., on Feb. 19, 2016. Bob Johnston The late Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman dines with wife Joanne aboard the Ocean View, hosting a dinner for Southwest Chief inspection train attendees at La Junta, Colo. on Aug. 4, 2016. Bob Johnston […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has expanded its train cancellations and schedule modifications because of severe weather anticipated because of Hurricane Dorian. Today (Sept. 3) the southbound Palmetto will operate only between New York and Washington, D.C., with service cancelled from Washington to Richmond, Va. The northbound Palmetto will operate as scheduled. Wednesday, Sept. 4, and Thursday, […]
MIAMI — South Florida’s two local rail operators will resume service on Wednesday, Sept. 4. Brightline/Virgin Trains USA will resume service with $10 fares through Sunday, Sept. 8. Visit the Brightline website for schedules and more information. Commuter railroad Tri-Rail will also resume service Wednesday after reporting it expects to have its corridor completely restored […]
Lincoln Service train No. 302 speeds through Odell, Ill., in November 2016. Bob Johnston Lincoln Service train No. 304 creeps at 30 mph on KCS-owned trackage through Granite City, Ill., in May 2014. UP track at right is signaled for 79 mph southbound only. Norfolk Southern’s ex-Wabash route is at left. Speeds had not been […]
A Tri-Rail train departs Boynton Beach, Fla., in January 2017. Tri-Rail and SunRail have both halted operations because of the approach of Hurricane Dorian. TRAINS: David Lassen MIAMI — Commuter railroad Tri-Rail has suspended operations until further notice in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Dorian, and Orlando-area operator SunRail will follow suit. Tri-Rail operations […]
DAYTON, Texas — Nineteen people were injured when the eastbound Sunset Limited collided with a truck in rural Liberty County, Texas on Friday afternoon. The train hit the truck about 4 p.m. near Dayton, about 40 miles northeast of Houston, the Houston Chronicle reports. The newspaper quoted Amtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods as saying the train […]
Work on three tracks and an interlocking at New York’s Penn Station has been completed and Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road, and NJ Transit service affected by the work will be restored. Ralph Spielman NEW YORK — Passengers at the nation’s most used railroad station can breathe a sigh of relief, as Amtrak has completed […]
A Brightline train lays over in West Palm Beach in April 2019. Brian Schmidt WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Brightline is adjusting schedules and dropping fares ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Dorian, which is expected to make landfall on Tuesday morning. “Based on Hurricane Dorian’s current path and anticipated high winds, Brightline will be […]
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) speaks to a crowd that came to see an Amtrak inspection train at Gulfport, Miss., in 2016. Wicker has been a key supporter of efforts to restore Amtrak service along the Gulf Coast, which took another step forward Thursday with announcement of a federal grant to fund first-year operating expenses. […]
ORLANDO, Fla. — One of the counties that is a member of the commission overseeing commuter railroad SunRail is asking out of the commission, and would surrender plans for a station in return. Volusia County made this offer Thursday at a meeting of the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports. Volusia […]
A Metra train prepares to cross Prospect Avenue after a stop at the station in Clarendon Hills, Ill. Metra has pledged $1.5 million toward a new station at Clarendon Hills and related improvements, including work on the Prospect Avenue grade crossing. TRAINS: David Lassen CLARENDON HILLS, Ill. — Commuter railroad Metra has pledged an additional […]
