Opening delayed for Aventura Brightline station

White and yellow station exterior

AVENTURA, Fla. — Brightline passenger service from the new Aventura station north of Miami, which was slated to begin Wednesday (Dec. 21) after ceremonies Tuesday marking its completion, has been postponed over delays in final construction inspections, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. Brightline spokeswoman Vanessa Alfonso told the newspaper the issue involved the stations’s elevator […]

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Metra plans reduced schedules Friday because of winter storm

Commuter train in snow

CHICAGO — Commuter rail operator Metra will operate a modified Saturday schedule on most lines Friday, Dec. 23, as blizzard conditions are forecast for the Chicago area and many commuters will already have begun their Christmas holiday. Regular schedules are planned for today (Thursday, Dec. 22), although passengers are advised to allow extra travel time […]

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Sound Transit to receive $583 million for light rail projects

Light rail train on bridge

WASHINGTON — Sound Transit will receive $583 million for two of its light rail expansion projects as part of the Fiscal 2023 Omnibus Appropriations bill, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) announced Wednesday. The Federal Way Link extension will receive $329.14 million, while the Lynnwood Link extension will receive $254 million. The Federal Way money means […]

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Trains Magazine, Kalmbach set for Christmas break

Trains Magazine logo

WAUKESHA, Wis. — The staff of Trains Magazine and all other Kalmbach Media employees will begin an extended break for the Christmas holiday at the close of business today (Thursday, Dec. 22). With Christmas falling on a weekend, we will be closed on Friday, Dec. 23, to observe Christmas Eve, and on Monday, Dec. 26, […]

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Weekly U.S. rail traffic sees big drop

Weekly table showing U.S. carload rail traffic by commodity type, plus intermodal totals

WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic is heading toward the end of the year on a down note, with weekly volume down 5.5% from the same week in 2021, according to the latest statistics from the Association of American Railroads. U.S. railroads moved 476,232 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Dec. 17. That includes […]

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Railroads urge regulators to stick with tried-and-true interchange policies

Black, gray, and yellow locomotives lined up in yard

WASHINGTON — The Chicago interchange dispute between Canadian National and Canadian Pacific should not upend long-standing practices that determine where railroads exchange traffic, three railroads have told federal regulators. The Surface Transportation Board in October said the CN-CP case raises broad issues regarding interchange practices, particularly after a federal appeals court set aside a board […]

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Year in Review: LIRR completes two major projects

Overhead view of EMU train on three-track main line

Today, Trains News Wire begins our review of the top stories of 2022. We’ll count down the Top 10 stories of the year, as voted on by Trains editors, columnists, and correspondents, beginning Dec. 26. As a prelude, we’ll be looking at major stories that didn’t quite make that list. Today: Notable transit stories. Several […]

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Navajo-owned coal company sues BNSF for breach of contract

Logo of Navajo Transitional Energy Company

BILLINGS, Mont. — A Native American-owned coal company has sued BNSF Railway for breach of contract, claiming the railroad’s preferential treatment of other mines cost it more than $150 million in revenue and $15 million in demurrage penalties in 2022. In a suit filed Monday in federal district court in Montana, Navajo Transitional Energy Co., […]

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NS train derails after hitting truck moving concrete bridge beam

Derailed locomotives and rubble from accident

  COLLEGEDALE, Tenn. — Two Norfolk Southern crew members were taken to the hospital for treatment after their train struck a truck carrying a 134-foot-long concrete bridge beam and derailed, WTVC-TV reports. The accident occurred about 1:30 p.m. in the Chattanooga suburb of Collegeville and derailed three locomotives and 10 cars. Injuries to the crew […]

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Union Pacific train derails in Victorville, Calif. (updated)

Union Pacific logo without slogan. UP Bailey Yard explosion appear to be accidental.

VICTORVILLE, Calif. — Twenty-seven cars of a Union Pacific train carrying iron ore derailed Tuesday in Victorville, blocking BNSF’s line through the community and leading to the cancellation of Tuesday’s eastbound departure of the Southwest Chief, the San Bernardino Sun reports. No injuries were reported. The derailment occurred about 8 a.m. The cause of the […]

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