Metra’s Electric Line will remain on a modified schedule through Friday as the commuter railroad continues to repair damage caused by a freight-train derailment. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — Continuing work to repair damage caused by a Canadian National freight-train derailment has led Metra to announce its Electric Line will remain on a modified schedule […]
A Miami-bound Brightline train speeds through Lantana, Fla., on Jan. 10, 2019. The initial public offering for the passenger operation, to be rebranded Virgin Trains USA, is set for Feb. 13. TRAINS: David Lassen MIAMI — The NASDAQ stock exchange is reporting that Virgin Trains USA’s initial public offering of common stock is set for […]
NEW YORK — Friday’s announcement that Amtrak’s board of directors had reached agreement with New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority on the Penn Station Access project had been expected. An accompanying possibility — direct Amtrak service to Long Island — was not. In a press release following the Amtrak board meeting, Stephen Gardner, senior executive vice […]
Amtrak’s northbound Vermonter crosses a canal in Holyoke, Mass., on Aug. 30, 2018. Plans for additional service will increase frequency on this corridor from one to three round trips daily. Scott A. Hartley SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The upgrade of former Boston & Maine Railroad trackage that allowed the Vermonter to be rerouted via Greenfield, Mass., […]
Joe Boardman Bob Johnston WAUKESHA, Wis. — Former Amtrak President Joe Boardman has strong words for his old railroad in the March 2019 issue of Trains Magazine. In our monthly “The Trains Interview,” Boardman discusses rail safety, operations, dining car service and offers a critical opinion of the passenger railroad under the leadership of Amtrak’s […]
A Metra Electric train stops at the Homewood, Ill., station in May 2016. Metra has restored service to the entire Electric line, but on a limited scheduled. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — Metra has resumed service across its Electric Line, but will be operating on a “modified weekday schedule” today (Monday, Feb. 4) as repairs […]
A Wilsonville-bound Westside Express Service train passes through Tigard, Ore., in June 2018. An Oregon legislator wants the service extended to the state capital, Salem. TRAINS: David Lassen PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon legislator is making a fourth attempt to generate interest in a plan to extend Portland’s lone commuter-rail line to Salem, Ore. The […]
SAN FRANCISCO — The Transbay Transit Center, the downtown bus terminal which will eventually also serve as San Francisco’s station for the California high speed rail system, will remain closed until at least June, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The $2.2 billion dollar facility had been open for just six weeks when it was closed […]
A southbound Metra Electric train arrives at the 11th Street/Museum Campus station in August 2016. Metra Electric service has been restored on this part of the line, but remains cancelled south of Kensington; South Shore service has been fully restored. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — Full South Shore Line commuter rail service has been restored […]
WASHINGTON – Amtrak board of directors has appointed Kevin Winters as the new Amtrak inspector general, effective immediately. He succeeds Tom Howard, who will retire after four decades of experience in senior federal accountability positions. Winters has served as deputy inspector general and counsel since 2015, after serving for 10 years as a senior executive […]
A screen image capture from a Metra video of natural gas-fired switch heaters. Media outlets covering the late January freeze in the Midwest have reported that Chicago’s Metra sets its tracks on fire. METRA CHICAGO — From ABC to the British Broadcasting Corp. with Stephen Colbert in between, the national and international media is obsessed […]
CHICAGO – The derailment of a Canadian National freight train in south suburban Harvey that knocked down adjacent catenary supports on parallel Metra Electric tracks continues to affect Windy City passenger operations, even as temperatures begin to climb. For the third consecutive day, all Metra Electric and South Shore Line trains have been cancelled. The […]
