Rail industry outlines legislative priorities at House hearing

Man speaking while seated at table

WASHINGTON — Widespread support for a federal grade-crossing safety program emerged during a lengthy House subcommittee hearing, a session which also saw representatives of the railroad industry and rail labor lay down markers for their priorities in the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization bill. The two-hour, 45-minute session today (Jan. 23) of the Transportation and Infrastructure […]

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House railroad subcommittee gets new chairman

Trains Washington Watch logo

WASHINGTON — A shuffling of congressional committee assignments has led to a new chairman for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials. U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) was named the subcommittee chair on Tuesday, Jan. 21, following the reassignment of Rep. David Rouzer (R-N.C.), who will now head the Highways […]

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Chilean company orders four Wabtec locomotives

orange and yellow locomotive

PITTSBURGH — TRANSAP, a rail-based logistics company in Chile, has ordered four C30ACi locomotives, Wabtec has announced. The locomotives will be the company’s first with AC traction. They will be used to fulfill a long-term contract with forestry company ARAUCO on Chile’s Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado rail network. “This order is a critical step […]

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Metra considers financing to address bridge repairs

Train on bridge

CHICAGO — Commuter operator Metra says it is considering the rarely used option of outside financing to address its increasingly urgent need to replace aging bridges. Metra owns 446 of the 926 bridges on its system, and of those 446, 50% are more than 100 years old and another 30% are more than 75 years […]

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U.S. weekly rail volume shows big jump

Weekly table showing U.S. carload traffic by commodity type, plus overall intermodal volume

WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic showed a massive jump for the week ending Jan. 18, 2025, with both carload and intermodal traffic up more than 25% from the same week a year earlier. Statistics from the Association of American Railroads show overall traffic for the week was 500,160 carloads and intermodal units, a 25.9% increase. […]

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Renderings envision private, luxury LA-San Francisco sleeper train

Illustration of sleeping compartment with queen bed and large seating area

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Dreamstar Lines, which hopes to launch luxury overnight train service between San Francisco and Los Angeles, has released conceptual renderings of Art Deco-inspired interiors for its equipment. The company commissioned Designworks, a BMW Group company, to create initial concepts for its plan to retrofit cars with four types of accommodations, in […]

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NS customers invest $4.3 billion in rail-served projects in 2024

Norfolk Southern logo

ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern customers advanced projects representing $4.3 billion in industrial development along its lines or those of a shortline partner in 2024, the railroad said today (Jan. 22). The investments involved 149 projects, including 65 representing $1.2 billion in investment and 1,700 jobs that were completed and began shipping on the railroad. Overall, […]

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House bill would update tax credit for short lines

Blue and yellow locomotives switching

WASHINGTON — In a notably bipartisan move, the top Republican and Democrat on the House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Tax have introduced a bill to update a tax credit that has been crucial to short line infrastructure investment. U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), chairman of the subcommittee, and Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), the ranking member, […]

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Reading & Northern achieves record freight revenues in 2024

Frieght train with two green and yello locomotives crosses river on steel girder bridge

PORT CLINTON, Pa. — With a change in traffic mix more than offsetting a decrease in carloads, the Reading & Northern achieved record freight revenues in 2024, the railroad has announced. The privately held railroad had previously announced record passenger ridership  [see “Reading & Northern marks record excursion ridership …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 8, […]

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Second Presidential Emergency Board supports NJ Transit offer to engineers; union rejects decision (updated)

Two-car EMU trainset rounds curve

NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit has announced that the Presidential Emergency Board addressing the ongoing labor dispute with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has determined the transit agency’s offer as “the most reasonable proposal.” The union, however, cites a portion of the board’s decision that says aspects of that offer “that we do […]

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