NEW YORK — Amtrak and a major construction trade union have signed an agreement to provide a work force for projects that will be part of the passenger railroad’s expansion plans. The Memorandum of Understanding between Amtrak and North America’s Building Trades Union (NABTU), which represents more than 3 million construction workers, will help ensure […]
BROOKFIELD, Wis. — One of the last remaining Wisconsin depots on the former Milwaukee Road main line is about to move after being in one place for more than 150 years. The 1867 Brookfield depot will be relocated starting at 10 p.m. on Nov. 4, city Economic Development Coordinator Todd Willis tells Trains News Wire. […]
WASHINGTON — DC Metrorail service will remain at reduced levels through at least Nov. 15, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced at a Thursday board meeting, although the agency will work to increase the number of available cars. WMATA had previously said the reduced service would continue through at least Oct. 31. Under the […]
An Amtrak test extra — with Siemens Charger ALC42 locomotives Nos. 301 and 300 bracketing a Horizon car and a Viewliner baggage car — heads west from Chelsea, Mich., during the wee hours of Oct. 28, 2021. Nighttime PTC testing for the new locomotives is based at nearby Jackson, Mich. — David Patch […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has extended the deadline for its workers to receive COVID-19 vaccinations to Dec. 8, CEO Bill Flynn said today in a message to employees — and is preparing for possible service reductions if workers leave the company rather than receiving the vaccination. The new date aligns Amtrak’s deadline, which previously had been […]
Wm. K. Walthers’ new FP7 is loaded with road name-specific details. Check them out in this video, shot on Model Railroader’s HO scale Milwaukee, Racine & Troy staff layout. […]
ELY, Nev. — Consolidations, the everyday freight workhorse of the steam era, garner little love. They’re not sleek or refined like the rare Pacific passenger locomotive still found in service in the 21st century. They’re not as muscular as the Mikados that surpassed them with greater fireboxes, a trailing truck, and powerful muscularity in eight […]
WASHINGTON — A U.S. Senator who has twice before introduced legislation to end forced-arbitration agreements — once in all cases, and once specifically regarding Amtrak — is part of a new legislative effort aimed at the arbitration policy that is part of Amtrak ticket purchases. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) has led introduction of a Senate […]
LOS ANGELES — Union Pacific, the Port of Long Beach, and the Utah Inland Port Authority have announced the launch of direct rail service between the Long Beach and Utah facilities to help address ongoing port congestion. The executive directors of the two facilities, Mario Cordero of Long Beach and Jack Hedge of the Utah […]
WASHINGTON — Continuing a pattern that now extends over 10 weeks, U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Oct. 23 showed an overall decrease from the same week a year earlier, with intermodal traffic down and carload moves up. The latest figures from the Association of American Railroads have overall traffic at 510,762 carloads and […]
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern CEO Jim Squires warned today that the railroad’s train crew shortages may be exacerbated by the federal COVID-19 vaccination mandate that takes effect on Dec. 8. Like CSX Transportation, NS is experiencing higher than normal attrition among its train crews and is having trouble hiring new conductors due to the […]
ANCHORAGE — The Alaska Railroad has rescinded its mandate for employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccination following a Tuesday vote by the state-owned railroad’s board of directors. The Anchorage Daily News reports the board voted unanimously to rescind the mandate, announced Friday in an email from CEO Bill O’Leary to employees [see “Alaska Railroad to […]
