Springfield, Ill., marks completion of latest segment of rail project

Map of planned rail line improvements in Springfield, Ill.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday marked completion of the latest section of the Springfield Rail Improvements Project, a long-running effort to realign rail routes through the city to reduce traffic impacts. The State Journal-Register reports the ceremony was for completion of bridges and underpasses on Fifth and Sixth streets, known as Usable Segment […]

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Lenox Tower project complete, Illinois DOT announces

Freight train crosses tracks near building being demolished

  MITCHELL, Ill. — A $10.1 million project to reconfigure and modernize rail operations at Lenox Tower, a key rail junction northeast of St. Louis, has been completed, the Illinois Department of Transportation has announced. The joint federal and state project, also funded by Amtrak and freight railroads, was announced more than a year ago […]

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Design firm selected for CREATE Pullman Junction project

Map of rail junction in south Chicago

CHICAGO — Engineering and design firm Benesch has been selected by Norfolk Southern to handle final track design for Segment B of CREATE’s EW3 project, the Pullman Junction project on the city’s South Side. The project will involve track infrastructure in a 2-mile segment from the Belt Railway of Chicago’s Commerical Yard, in the vicinity […]

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Seminole Gulf Railway faces lengthy closure after hurricane

Map of railroad in southwest Florida

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Florida’s Seminole Gulf Railway could be shut down for up to six months because of damage suffered from Hurricane Ian, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reports. Executive Vice President Robert Fay told the Business Journal the railroad had lost six bridges as a result of the storm, including three totaling 1,300 linear […]

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Registration opens for WRI ’23

Logo of WRI 2023

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Registration has opened for WRI 2023, the 28th annual Wheel Rail Interaction Conference, to be held June 6-9, 2023, at the Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, The Depot. Trains Magazine is a presenting sponsor for the event. The conference consists of three events: a one-day Rail Transit seminar on June 6, a one-day Principles […]

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Final segment of LIRR Third Track project opens

WESTBURY, N.Y. — The Long Island Rail Road opened the third and final segment of its Third Track project on Monday, completing the capacity expansion on 9.8 miles of its main line between Floral Park and Hicksville, N.Y. In a press conference in Westbury following a ceremonial ride from Hicksville with officials including Gov. Kathy […]

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BNSF’s Truxton Flyover: improving traffic flows on Southern Transcon

Train on bridge crossing over railroad tracks in desert landscape

BNSF’s Truxton Flyover project Truxton, Ariz., is not exactly one of the metropolitan centers of the American Southwest. “Population: very small,” says Craig Rasmussen, BNSF Railway assistant vice president, engineering services and structures. Officially, as of the 2020 census, 104 people live in the hamlet 42 miles northeast of Kingman, Ariz., on U.S. Route 66. […]

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MBTA needs an additional $1 billion for Orange, Red line improvements

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority logo

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority needs another $1 billion to complete infrastructure improvements on its rapid-transit Orange and Red lines, the Boston Herald reports. That’s beyond the $1.6 billion already budgeted in its capital investment plan. While the agency recently completed a 30-day shutdown of the Orange Line to address pressing maintenance needs, […]

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Pacific Surfliner, Metrolink facing 60-day service outage to Oceanside, San Diego official says

Blue and silver-painted locomotive at a station platform surrounding by brown steel work and palm trees. Amtrak Pacific Surfliner renewable diesel.

SAN DIEGO — The interruption of passenger service between South Orange County and Oceanside, Calif, could last for two months, an official with San Diego’s planning agency told broadcaster KPBS. Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner and LA-area commuter operator Metrolink halted service through San Clemente, Calif., on Friday, over concerns about erosion along a portion of the […]

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Pacific Surfliner, Metrolink halt operations in South Orange County

Heavy equipment moving rocks along rail lline at beach as train waits in distance

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner and LA-area commuter rail operator Metrolink have suspended service until further notice between Irvine and Oceanside, Calif., over “safety concerns” regarding the right-of-way in San Clemente, according to a notice on the Surfliner website. The Los Angeles Times reported earlier this week that erosion along the beach in […]

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Rail service to Denver airport to be reduced in October

Denver_ALine_Meet_Lassen

DENVER — The Regional Transportation District A-Line, which connects Denver International Airport to Denver Union Station, will operate at a reduced frequency for most of October, the RTD has announced. Trains will run at 30-minute intervals between Oct. 3 and Oct. 29 to accommodate right-of-way repairs, departing Union Station on the hour and half-hour, and […]

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