WASHINGTON — During a presentation to the Rail Passengers Association this week, Amtrak’s Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer, Roger Harris, revealed that beginning some time in October, business class passengers on the Seattle-Los Angeles Coast Starlight will be permitted to purchase food in the train’s dining car. But he also said restoring coach and sleeping […]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — High natural gas prices have electric utilities once again relying on railroading’s oldest friend – coal. Natural-gas futures have notched upward to $5.10 per million British thermal units in recent days, reflecting a 95% increase from six months ago when natural gas was $2.61 per million BTUs. This upward trend, which has […]
WASHINGTON — Virginia’s Buckingham Branch Railroad seeks to acquire a line that it presently leases from CSX Transportation. It encompasses 164.22 miles of line from milepost 276 in Clifton Forge to milepost 111.78 at Doswell. The railroad has leased the line, part of which hosts Amtrak’s Cardinal, since 2005. It was originally Chesapeake & Ohio. […]
WASHINGTON — The California High-Speed Rail Authority has filed two petitions with the Surface Transportation Board to reopen proceedings to make changes to two aspects of its high speed rail line under construction in the Central Valley. The first document seeks to reexamine an exemption granted for 65 miles of high-speed line between Merced and […]
HARBOR SPRINGS, Mich. — An important piece of American steam locomotive logging history is being relocated from its display site of more than 50 years in Texas to an appropriate place in Michigan. In the town of Harbor Springs, a Shay locomotive will be restored and displayed in the town where inventor Ephiram Shay came […]
BALTIMORE – The B&O Railroad Museum has obtained a $500,000 grant to cosmetically restore both the exterior and interior of the former Baltimore & Ohio Washington Pullman observation-tavern car No. 3316 built in 1949. The funds, to be matched 1:1 with other contributons come from the Federal Saving America’s Treasures program. That is a National […]
CHICAGO — Norfolk Southern’s experimental less-than-carload expedited boxcar service has been expanded and has won praise as an example of how railroads can take freight off highways. The Thoroughbred Freight Transfer service — launched in July linking Chicago, Atlanta, and Miami — now includes lanes connecting Croxton, N.J., with Chicago and Atlanta, Ed Elkins, the […]
Before heading westward, our hard-drivin’ rail adventurer Tom Danneman walks and talks you around his trail-rated 4×4 truck. This time out, Tom’s son is riding shotgun, so rooftop camping is also part of the off-road trackside trek! […]
Canadian Pacific CEO Keith Creel — who last week won a hard-fought, four month merger battle to acquire Kansas City Southern — is fully aware that the first Class I railroad combination in two decades is history in the making. “We’ve got some history that we’re very proud of with Canadian Pacific. We drove the […]
Amtrak plans to add three short-haul routes in Pennsylvania and double both Keystone Service and Pennsylvanian train frequencies, Amtrak President Stephen Gardner told Gov. Tom Wolf and other public officials in a recent online roundtable talk about the company’s ConnectsUS 15-year regional corridor vision. The three routes are: New York City-Scranton, Pa., 136 miles via […]
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis Railroad reached a major milestone on Friday when the first of three replacement spans on the Merchants Bridge was floated into position on the Mississippi River at St. Louis. Owned by the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis, the Merchants Bridge project is a […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National is fighting back. In the wake of an activist investor’s call for a management shakeup and improved financial results, CN today announced a “Full Speed Ahead” plan to reduce its operating ratio, cut capital spending, and increase shareholder returns through a combination of earnings growth and share buybacks. CN is targeting […]
