Owner of masonry firm charged in Amtrak bribery case

Aerial view of large railroad station next to river

PHILADELPHIA — The owner of an Illinois masonry company has been charged in regards to a bribery case related to restoration of Amtrak’s 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, becoming the fourth person charged in the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced on Friday, March 28, that Mark Snedden, 69, […]

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News photo: A Rocky Mountaineer preview

View from above of blue, copper, and white passenger train emerging from one of two side-by-side tunnels.

KYUNE, Utah — The test train for next year’s expansion of Rocky Mountaineer service to Salt Lake City is well into its six-day round trip from Denver. Rocky Mountaineer’s parent company, now known as Armstrong Collective, announced earlier this month that in 2026, it would add three-day trips between Denver and Salt Lake City to […]

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Amtrak continues effort to cover for loss of Horizon cars

Passenger train with five deadlead cars behind locomotives

CHICAGO – Amtrak continues to reshuffle its equipment to address the loss of its Horizon car fleet, sidelined suddenly earlier this week because of corrosion issues. That effort has decreased the number of train cancellations. The hardest-hit area remains the Pacific Northwest, where six of seven Amtrak Cascades round trips have been replaced by buses […]

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SMART-TD, Keolis reach tentative contract agreement

Commuter train at station platform

BOSTON — The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division has reached a tentative five-year agreement with Keolis Commuter Services, the union announced on Friday, March 28. Keolis is the contract operator of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail services. The agreement, retroactive to July 1, 2023, will include 5% raises […]

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Amtrak considering staff cuts, other cost-saving moves

Amtrak logo.

WASHINGTON — In the wake of the departure of its CEO and discussions of the company’s potential privatization, Amtrak is considering cuts to management and other cost-cutting moves, the company has confirmed. “Given the current environment, the Executive Leadership Team and the Board have determined that we must act now,” Amtrak said in a statement […]

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RailSmith Models N Budd dome coach

Color photo of N scale lightweight passenger car in blue, white, and gray paint.

​​A newly tooled Budd dome coach is now available in N scale from RailSmith Models. The injection-molded plastic lightweight car features tinted dome window glazing, metal wheel stubs mounted on plastic axles, and truck-mounted Accumate knuckle couplers. Prototype history The RailSmith car is based on a dome coach built by the Budd Co. in 1955 […]

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High-speed steam action

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Louisville & Nashville 4-8-2 No. 407 on Cincinnati–Birmingham train 7 passes 2-8-0 No. 1212 on a northbound freight on double track 10 miles south of Louisville in November 1948. C. William Streit photo […]

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Board approves Constantine as Sound Transit CEO

Head shot of smiling man in suit

SEATTLE — Sound Transit has hired Dow Constantine, the current King County (Wash.) executive, as its next CEO. The Sound Transit board approved the choice of Constantine today (March 27) by a 15-0 vote. Constantine has been a member of the board since 2006, but had recused himself from the board’s process of considering CEO […]

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Judge orders Santa Clara VTA workers to end strike

White light rail train at station

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A judge has ordered an end to the strike by Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority workers. The San Jose Mercury News reports Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Daniel T. Nishigaya on Wednesday issued an injunction ordering the 1,500 members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 back to work, saying the […]

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