Conway Scenic Railroad forges cruise-ship partnerships

Passenger train led by yellow locomotive in mountains with vibrant fall foliage

NORTH CONWAY, N.H. – Cruise-ship passengers will soon be riding Conway Scenic Railroad’s trains over its Mountain Division through picturesque Crawford Notch in New Hampshire’s 6,000-foot-high White Mountains. Service is expected to begin in June. The railroad will offer ship patrons another option for shore excursions when they debark at Portland, Maine, a popular port […]

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MBTA to shut down portions of Red, Green lines in February

Section of MBTA transit map showing Red Line area to be shut down

BOSTON — A 10-day shutdown of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Red Line between the Alewife and Harvard stations is the centerpiece of MBTA’s plans for major maintenance projects in February, the latest phase in a more than year-long effort to eliminate the accumulated slow orders on the agency’s rail transit system. Also, an 18-day […]

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Downeaster’s Rockland branch experiment encounters equipment snag, Amtrak involvement delays (updated)

RDCs parked next to building

BRUNSWICK, Maine — A proposal to use a Rail Diesel Car to offer year-round connections on a former Maine Central branch line from Rockland, Maine to a rendezvous with Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority’s Amtrak-operated Downeaster at Brunswick, Maine, is being re-evaluated after the RDC suffered a debilitating breakdown last fall. Midcoast Railservice, the carrier with […]

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NJ Transit proposes 15% fare increases, sets hearings

NJTransit_PrincetonJct_Lassen

NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit is proposing fare increases of 15% for fiscal 2025 to address a projected $106.6 million budget deficit, the agency announced Wednesday, and will hold a series of 10 hearings on the proposal beginning March 4. The fare increase would take effect July 1, 2024. The proposal also includes annual 3% […]

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Second CRRC trainset enters service on MBTA’s Red Line

Rapid transit trainset in factory

BOSTON — A second trainset of equipment built by China’s CRRC has begun running on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Red Line — three years after the first such train entered operation, the website Streetsblog Mass reports. The second trainset entered service earlier this month, an MBTA spokesman confirmed to the website. The first had […]

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White Mountain Central returns Climax locomotive to operation

Climax steam locomotive in operation. White Mountain Railroad Climax

LINCOLN, N.H. — White Mountain Central Railroad, operated by Clark’s Bears (formerly Clark’s Trading Post), announced that front power-truck issues, which sidelined its two-truck Climax No. 6 last season have been repaired. The locomotive is scheduled to operate during July and August 2024. No. 6 is one of only four Climax geared locomotives still operating […]

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Amtrak cancellations expand to Acela    

High speed train passing through station

WASHINGTON — With the first significant snow of the season sweeping into the East Coast on Thursday, Amtrak cancelled 12 Acela Northeast Corridor departures, although no Northeast Regional trains were dropped. Three of the cancelled round-trips were scheduled Boston-Washington, and three were New York-Washington, plus an additional departure of the Washington-New York portion of Acela […]

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EBT Foundation announces details of extended shop tours

Steam locomotive at edge of turntable with red shop buildings in background. East Broad Top expanded tours

ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – Expanded tours of the East Broad Top Railroad shops, roundhouse, and archives will be offered for the first time in 2024, the non-profit EBT Foundation, Inc., has announced. The narrow-gauge central Pennsylvania steam preservation railroad, a National Historic Landmark, will open new opportunities besides its existing one-hour tour of its circa-1910 […]

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New Amtrak station to be built in Vermont (updated)

Amtrak logo.

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. – Construction on a new Amtrak station in Brattleboro is set to begin March, the Commons News reported. The station, which will be served by Amtrak’s Vermonter, will cost $10 million and take 18 months to complete. It will include the first high-level passenger platform in Vermont. In November 2020, Amtrak announced it […]

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