KCS turns to Commtrex to improve transload network

Kansas City Southern logo

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern will use rail logistics platform Commtrex to improve the visibility and connectivity of its network of more than 100 transload facilities in 19 U.S. and Mexican states. The agreement announced Monday joins the railroad’s transload network with a platform that allows shippers to find transload centers by location, […]

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Analysis: Amtrak fiscal 2021 results favor longer routes

Cars lined up on road next to passenger train

WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s fiscal 2021 results saw ticket revenue and ridership both off 63% from 2019, the last year when the October-September fiscal calendar was not impacted by COVID-19 travel restrictions and massive service cuts. Long-distance trains, however, suffered less of a setback than state-supported and Northeast Corridor operations. For the fiscal year ending Sept. […]

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News photo: New Brightline equipment en route to Florida

Aerial view of passenger equipment being pulled by freight locomotive

HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. — Brightline’s newest equipment is making its way to Florida. On Friday, Oct. 8, Union Pacific ET44AH No. 2603 leads a new trainset, operating as CSX train CSX W989 on the Henderson Subdivision at CSX Casky yard in Hopkinsville, Ky. The new equipment — to be used as service is expanded to Orlando, […]

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Winterail set to return in March 2022

Winterail logo

CORVALLIS, Ore. — After two years of COVID-19 disruptions, Winterail is set to return in March 2022 at Corvallis High School with a two-day event featuring shows for 2020, 2021, and 2022. The 2020 show will be held on Saturday, March 19, with digital presentations from noon to 10 p.m. and a collectables sale from […]

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Canadian Pacific Holiday Train to remain sidelined in 2021

Canadia Pacific Holiday Train

CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific’s Holiday Train will again be sidelined by COVID-19 considerations in 2021, but the railroad will continue with the actions it took in 2020, donating to food banks and holding an online benefit concert. “The spirit of the Holiday Train is about giving generously and inspiring those around us to give […]

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Membership set for new MBTA board of directors

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority logo

BOSTON — Membership for the new Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority board of directors is complete after Gov. Charlie Baker appointed five members to the seven-member board. State House News Service reports Betsy Taylor, a veteran of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation board, will chair the new board, which replaces the Fiscal and Management Control Board. […]

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News photos: Amtrak Phase III heritage unit debuts

Locomotive with elaborate red, white, and blue striking

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — The last of Amtrak’s 50th anniversary heritage-paint locomotives is now in service. P42DC No. 160 wears the “Phase III” scheme — popularly dubbed the “Pepsi Can” — that was unique to the passenger carrier’s P32-8BWH locomotives when delivered in 1991. It was photographed Saturday morning; photographer Nathan Richters said his understanding was […]

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N&W No. 611 to remain at Strasburg Rail Road

Streamlined steam locomotive at station next to tower

STRASBURG, Pa. — Norfolk & Western Class J locomotive No. 611 will remain at the Strasburg Rail Road this winter, undergoing an annual inspection and maintenance, following the conclusion of its operations on the Pennsylvania short line. The Virginia Museum of Transportation’s 4-8-4 had operated at Strasburg since May, wrapping up its schedule of excursions, […]

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Milwaukee Road 261 returns to action (with video)

People gather around steam locomotive and train

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Milwaukee Road locomotive No. 261 is back on the road after a two-year absence from mainline operation. The S-3 Class Northern 4-8-4, built in 1944 by the American Locomotive Co. at Schenectady, N.Y., was in action Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 2-3, on the Twin Cities & Western Railroad between Chanhassen and Bongards, […]

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