MBTA board approves $9.8 billion capital spending plan

Commuter train at station platform

BOSTON — New equipment for the commuter rail fleet is among the major projects planned under the 2026-30 Capital Improvement Plan approved on Tuesday, May 20, by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority board. The plan, which calls for $9.8 billion in capital expenditures over the next five fiscal years, includes more than 660 projects, the […]

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The challenges and opportunities of Amtrak’s Floridian: Trip report

Train in station trainshed

ORLANDO — Amtrak’s decision last fall to create the Chicago-Miami Floridian out of the Capitol Limited and Silver Star — ostensibly to reduce equipment moves during East River tunnel reconstruction in New York — is facing additional timekeeping obstacles over its 2,076-mile, 44-intermediate-stop route this summer. A cell phone text message dinged Sunday (May 18) […]

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NJ Transit service resumes after strike

Commuter train on multi-track main line

NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit resumed rail service this morning after a four-day shutdown because of a strike by engineers, with the first scheduled move a 3:47 a.m. Northeast Corridor line departure from Trenton to New York. Inbound service on all lines was slated to begin by 5:10 am.; the last route to see a […]

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MTA resumes subway service to Rockaways after 17-week closure

View of elevated railway structure where two tracks come together

NEW YORK — New York City Transit has resumed A Train subway service to the Rockaway Peninsula, suspended since Jan. 17 to allow for critical infrastructure work. The 17-week shutdown allowed rebuilding of the Hammels Wye viaduct and repairs to the South Channel Bridge across Jamaica Bay, damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Emergency repairs […]

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NJ Transit, BLET resume talks

Commuter train at junction

NEWARK, N.J. — Talks between NJ Transit and striking engineers resumed today (Saturday, May 17) — a day earlier than originally indicated — but will continue on Sunday, the transit agency said. “Today’s discussions continued to be constructive,” NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri said in a brief statement. “We’ve mutually agreed to adjourn formal discussions […]

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50 years ago in Trains: A 1975 visit to Grand Central Terminal

Cover of the May, 1975 Trains Magazine

Fifty years ago, in the May 1975 Trains Magazine, prolific author William D. Middleton visited New York City’s Grand Central Terminal. His 14 page article opened on a down note, with Middleton writing: Grand Central’s great long-distance trains are gone now. deposed by the airplane and the automobile: and no longer do the rich, the […]

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NJ Transit negotiations with engineers set to resume Sunday

Two commuter trains on curve

ABERDEEN TOWNSHIP, N.J. — The strike by NJ Transit engineers appears destined to last at least through the weekend, as talks between the agency and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen are not scheduled to resume until Sunday, May 18. NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri said at a press conference today that the two sides […]

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