WASHINGTON — The agency overseeing the New Mexico Rail Runner commuter operation has received a $22.4 million grant for a new maintenance facility. The grant, from the Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program, is among nine announced Monday (Jan. 13, 2025) by members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation. Also […]
PENINSULA, Ohio — Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 will return to the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad for six days in April and May as part of the “Steam in the Valley” series of excursions, the heritage railway has announced. The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society’s 1944 Lima locomotive is set for excursions on April […]
The first word in the Association of American Railroad’s annual Rail Industry Outlook is “uncertainty,” as a slew of economic and policy issues weigh on the business in 2025. To further temper optimism, the report says that uncertainty is more pronounced amid cyclical factors and expectations for policy changes in the year ahead. “Potential shifts […]
MIAMI — Brightline will revive the commuter pass program it discontinued last year, thanks to a federal grant it received last week, the company has announced. The company received a $33.8 million Restoration and Enhancement grant from the Federal Railroad Administration, which the federal announcement said would support expanding Brightline train consists from five to […]
CHICAGO — Amtrak’s “new normal” for handling anticipated severe weather — cancelling trains rather than operating them into a region where a storm is predicted — has proven to be a significant change from decades past when passenger rail earned an “all-weather” reputation. Fewer railroad resources in far-flung locations and Amtrak’s stretched-thin equipment situation are […]
Canadian National has opened a new 4-mile stretch of double track on its former Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Chicago bypass route. The track, between Sutton and Spaulding, Ill., has increased velocity through the area by 30%, Patrick Whitehead, the railway’s executive vice president of network operations, said in a post on LinkedIn. The 17% in […]
Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Smoking is a habit that’s never appealed to me. No smoking for me. During my time as conductor for the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad, many of my engineers smoked. There was no choice for me but to grin and bear it. I never got used to it, but as long […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board says it is on schedule to issue a decision by early summer in the Sunset Limited on-time performance case, the first Amtrak has brought against a host railroad. “As we begin 2025, we do so having achieved marked progress on the Sunset Limited on-time performance (OTP) investigation, a critically […]
NEW YORK — Traffic in Manhattan’s Central Business District was down 7.5% in the first week of congestion tolling compared to the same week a year ago, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said today (Monday, Jan. 13), while transit ridership was up. MTA preliminary data shows approximately 273,000 cars entered the tolling area, with a 39% […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — The Canadian proposal for a high-frequency, passenger-only rail corridor between Toronto and Quebec City, already moving at a languid pace, is facing new delays — and those could increase with the planned resignation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The Canadian Press reports that late last year, the federal government requested an extension […]
RIVIERA MAYA, Mexico — The government of Belize has asked that the Maya Train be extended into its country, according to Belize’s prime minister. The Riviera Maya News reports that Prime Minister Johnny Briceño said his county has made a formal request to Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, saying the move would strengthen regional ties and […]
In Washington State’s Cascade Tunnel, it’s time to reach for the air packs if the ventilation fails. It happened to me on one of the only times I recall running with mid-train Distributive Power (DPU’s). It was a call for the Everett to Spokane manifest or as we called it, HEVESPO. The “H” stood for […]
