BOSTON — With the 30-day closure of a primary rail rapid transit line set to begin this evening, the mayor of Boston has warned it will be “impossible to avoid chaos altogether.” The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Orange Line will close Friday at 9 p.m., leaving commuters to use a patchwork of commuter rail, other […]
Spain has added to its high-speed rail mileage this summer and is on track to reach 2,500 miles within the next year, maintaining its position as home of the world’s second-largest high speed rail network. China is No. 1 with a network eight or nine times bigger. As the Spanish network has grown, the government […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California High-Speed Rail Authority board of directors has approved contracts for design of 52.4 miles of right-of-way that will extend the route north to Merced and south to Bakersfield, completing the initial 171-mile segment in the state’s Central Valley. The board awarded a $41 million design contract to Stantec Consulting Services […]
WASHINGTON — Building on the environmental benefits of rail travel, Amtrak has released its Fiscal 2021 Sustainability Report, outlining its efforts to improve sustainability by addressing greenhouse gas emissions and use of diesel fuel and electricity. Those efforts include the introduction of new Siemens Charger locomotives on long-distance routes, Tier-4-compliant units that emit 89% less […]
FORT WORTH, Texas – BNSF Railway on Sept. 4 will end its embargo on certain types of carload traffic bound for California, saying that the restrictions enabled the railway to reduce traffic backlogs on its Southern Transcon. “BNSF is terminating our California permit embargo on Sunday, September 4. As anticipated, our weekly number of permits continued […]
WASHINGTON – Rank-and-file members of rail labor are critical of a paragraph in the Presidential Emergency Board report that says railroads believe their workers have not contributed in any way to the industry’s record profits. The Presidential Emergency Board, whose duty was to help settle the contract impasse between unionized workers and the U.S. railroads, […]
Presidential Emergency Board recommendations for a new rail labor contract are a “vast improvement” over offers from the railroads, the president of a major rail union says, but “do not go far enough” in addressing quality-of-life issues. Jeremy R. Ferguson, president of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation-Transportation Division, said in a statement Thursday […]
CALGARY — Canadian National and oil and gas service and transportation firm Keyera will evaluate development of a new terminal to ship conventional and clean energy in Alberta’s “industrial heartland,” the companies announced Wednesday. The facility would be on adjoining land belonging to CN and Keyera and would provide a single terminal to transport energy […]
CUMBERLAND, Md. — The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad will hold a steam-powered fundraiser Oct. 14 to benefit restoration of the Railroaders Memorial Museum’s Pennsylvania Railroad K4s-class 4-6-2 steam locomotive No. 1361, based in Altoona, Pa. An evening dinner train will be pulled by WMSR’s ex-Chesapeake & Ohio Railway 2-6-6-2 engine No. 1309 (Baldwin, 1949), temporarily […]
CAMANCHE, Iowa — The city of Camanche has rejected an offer for $200,000 from Canadian Pacific to mitigate the impact of the pending CP-Kansas City Southern deal, with Mayor Austin Pruett telling KWQC-TV the offer is “very offensive.” The funds would have addressed closing two of the seven grade crossings in the community of 4,570, […]
PORT CLINTON, Pa. — This is turning out to be the summer of steam on Pennsylvania’s Reading & Northern Railroad. Less than a week after a spectacular doubleheaded public excursion [see “News photos: Doubleheaded ‘Iron Horse Ramble’ …,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 14, 2022], the railroad’s Passenger Department has posted on social media that R&N […]
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – Work continues on preparing East Broad Top’s 2-8-2-type engine No. 16 (Baldwin, 1916) for a return to active service. The narrow-gauge railroad, a National Historic Landmark, last used steam power in 2011, just prior to the shutdown that put the 33-mile railroad into a deep freeze for more than eight years. […]
