MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The state of Alabama this week announced the creation of the A-USA Corridor, a proposed $231.6 million program of rail projects to upgrade economic development infrastructure in central and southern Alabama. The first phase of the A-USA Corridor initiative involves a $71.6 million initiative to link the Port of Mobile with the McCalla […]
Magazine: Trains Magazine
Greenbrier to build 6,200 freight cars in first quarter
LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. – The adoption of precision scheduled railroading may be causing railroads to downsize their locomotive and car fleets, but freight carbuilder Greenbrier Cos. still received new orders of 6,200 units valued at $670 million for the first fiscal quarter of 2022. Car orders include intermodal, boxcars, gondolas, tank cars, covered hoppers, and automobile carriers. […]
Work to electrify Mexican railroad begins
MEXICO CITY — Work to supply electric power to the Mérida-Cancún stretch of Mexico’s Maya Train will begin this month at an estimated cost of $73.7 million. Mexico’s Environment Ministry said the electrification project would require the construction of three substations from which all the electricity necessary to feed the line will be supplied. The […]
Amtrak struggles to recover from winter weather challenges
WASHINGTON — The well-publicized snowstorm that stranded motorists for 24 hours along Interstate 95 near Fredericksburg, Va., didn’t spare Amtrak trains operating through the region from cancellations and monumental delays. But the disruptions weren’t limited to the Northeast, as mudslides, cold temperatures, and snow caused route truncations and delays elsewhere. In Virginia, trees laden with […]
MBTA says Rockport commuter rail service restoration expected in May
BOSTON – The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has announced that service over the single-track Gloucester drawbridge is expected to be restored by May 2022, allowing commuter rail service to resume to the Gloucester and Rockport stations. While construction of a replacement bridge continues, the disruption in service allowed MBTA opportunity to accelerate other projects planned […]
Kansas City Streetcar extension project on track for this year
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Delivery of new rail for the Kansas City Streetcar Main Street Extension began this week. Delivery is anticipated to take two weeks, with four trucks per day delivering rail, for a total of 36 deliveries. The rail will be used on the 3.5-mile extension of the KC Streetcar System that will […]
Former Missabe Road General Manager Adolph Ojard dies
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Adolph N. Ojard, former general manager of both the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway and the US Steel Great Lakes Fleet in Duluth, Minn., died Dec. 30 in Augusta. He was 72. While DM&IR general manager, he also served on the board of the Lake Superior Railroad Museum and was instrumental […]
NRC Conference to feature UP’s Fritz, presentations from all Class I railroads
PHOENIX — Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz will be the featured guest speaker and all seven Class I railroads are scheduled to outline capital spending plans for the year at the 2022 National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association Conference set for this week in Phoenix. The conference kicks off with a Wednesday evening reception, with […]
Amtrak, Massachusetts seek conditions on CSX-Pan Am merger
WASHINGTON – Amtrak and Massachusetts transportation officials have asked federal regulators to impose conditions that would protect current and future passenger and commuter service in the Bay State as part of CSX Transportation’s proposed acquisition of Pan Am Railways. Their comments were among those filed yesterday, the Surface Transportation Board’s deadline for receiving briefs regarding […]
Trial set for May to determine Durango & Silverton responsibility for fire
DURANGO, Colo. — The trial to determine if the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is responsible for the 2018 wildfire that burned more than 50,000 acres has been scheduled to begin in May, the third time a date has been set for the proceeding in which the federal government seeks reimbursement of about $25 […]
Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway launches 2022 season
JIM THORPE, Pa. — The Reading & Northern has launched its 2022 season of Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway excursions from the borough of Jim Thorpe. Trains will operate from Jim Thorpe on Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. for 70-minute route trips into the Lehigh Gorge State Park. The trains […]
MBTA trolley refurbishment falls further behind schedule
BOSTON — A project to refurbish 1940s-vintage PCC trolley cars used on one Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority line is more than two years behind schedule, with the first of the cars now expected to be in service by the end of the winter, the Boston Globe reports. Eight cars are being updated in a $7.9 […]
