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BRISTOL, Tenn. — Extension of Virginia’s state-supported Amtrak service to the stateline communities of Bristol. Va., and Bristol, Tenn., could cost up to $1.5 billion while attracting up to 15,500 riders annually, according to a new study by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation. The Bristol Herald Courier reports the study projects one […]
BONSAL, N.C. – The North Carolina Railway Museum is orchestrating the 5-mile highway movement of 10 landlocked railroad cars — both passenger and freight — from a nuclear power plant site to its headquarters here. The cars were the subject of NCRM’s “Save the Ten” campaign, which successfully raised nearly $200,000, $50,000 of which came […]
WASHINGTON — Cross-examination of Jim Blair, Amtrak’s senior director of host railroads, consumed the full 8-hour, 28-minute session Monday as the Surface Transportation Board’s hearing on the effort to launch passenger service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., resumed after an almost three-week hiatus. Blair was questioned by lawyers from Norfolk Southern, CSX Transportation, and […]
Southern Railway 2-8-8-2 4021, running boards and driving wheels trimmed in white, looks sharp at Appalachia, Va., on the afternoon of May 27, 1952. But a close look reveals that her main rods have been taken down in preparation for being hauled away for scrap. Ed Theisinger photo […]
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern has signed an agreement to develop the Lambert’s Point Docks, adjacent to its Lamberts Point Coal Terminal, into a location for both the offshore wind and defense industries. The Virginian-Pilot reports the railroad has signed with newly created development company Fairwinds Landing for a $100 million project to redevelop the […]
ORLANDO, Fla. — Businesses who would have been bypassed by Brightline’s original route between Orlando International Airport and Disney World have pledged $125 million toward a project which would serve them through a joint route used by both Brightline and commuter operator SunRail. Accounts of the meeting were provided in a paywalled Orlando Sentinel report […]
DeLAND, Fla. — Government officials in Volusia County, Fla., are asking to be included in discussions about a plan for Brightline and commuter operator SunRail to share a corridor to the Disney World area, expressing concerns about possible increases in SunRail operating costs that could result. Volusia County is one of five partners in SunRail’s […]
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte Western Railroad, the newest short line of Jaguar Transport Holdings, began operations Monday, May 2, as contract operator on 13 miles of track owned by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. “We are excited for the opportunity to establish our first operation in North Carolina and the southeastern US,” Jaguar CEO […]
The St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad was a survivor and an innovator. It weathered some very rough times, including at least five bankruptcies. It started running unit coal trains from Fort Smith, Ark., the city across the Arkansas River from my hometown of Van Buren, in the 1930s. It helped move Texas and Oklahoma oil east […]
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Brightline and the Florida Department of Transportation will seek a $25 million federal grant to help fund a $45 million project to address ongoing grade-crossing accidents along the passenger operator’s route in South Florida. The Palm Beach Post reports in a paywalled article that the project would make improvements at […]
NEW ORLEANS — A former Amtrak employee has pleaded guilty to charges of making false statements and theft of government funds for actions related to money received under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Stacey V. Santemore, 46, of Houston, entered the plea on April 27 in U.S. District Court, the U.S. […]
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs has awarded a grant toward a $1.9 million project for a warehouse and other improvements at Watco-served Port Birmingham. The Birmingham-Jefferson County Port Authority is contributing $1.1 million toward project, which includes a 25,000-square-foot warehouse and improvements to attract other commodities requiring indoor storage. […]
