Amtrak Archives - Page 78 of 206

Martinez mercury spill larger than first realized; station still closed

MARTINEZ, Calif. — A mercury spill at the Martinez Amtrak station has led to a health advisory for the city’s downtown after the spill area was discovered to be larger than originally realized. KPIX-TV reports that by Tuesday afternoon, traces of Mercury had been found in a five-block area, according to county agency Contra Costa Health. […]

Amtrak preparing procurement plans for new maintenance facilities

WASHINGTON — Amtrak is preparing plans for new maintenance facilities in Seattle, Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C., and is providing advance notice of its procurement plans to allow companies time to prepare bids for those projects. The facilities will handle maintenance, repairs, inspections, and cleaning for new Acela, Airo, and long-distance equipment. Each […]

Early short Amtrak consists

On May 1st, 1971, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, or Amtrak, was formed. On this 52nd anniversary, I thought we should take a look at small Amtrak trains from the start. If you want to learn about how to model modern short Amtrak consists, check out my previous article. Instead of focusing on two individual […]

Amtrak station in Martinez, Calif., closed by mercury spill

MARTINEZ, Calif. — The Amtrak station in Martinez has been closed after a mercury spill was discovered in the station’s parking lot, Bay City News Service reports. Hazardous material teams responded to a reported spill at the station about 5:45 p.m. Monday evening, Contra Costa Health reported. The scene was eventually cleared, but the station […]

Amtrak service halted between Seattle and Portland, Ore.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Amtrak service between Seattle and Portland has been canceled through at least Wednesday after a landslide between Vancouver, Wash, and Kelso, Wash., on Monday. Amtrak announced the service disruption on Monday evening following the cancellation of the Seattle-Portland portion of several Cascades trains earlier in the day. The passenger operator cites a […]

Empire Builder adds cars following derailment

Passenger train emerges from tunnel at Chicago Union Station

CHICAGO — With horns blaring while track crews working in the tunnel at the scene of Sunday afternoon’s derailment stepped safely out of the way, the westbound Empire Builder emerged from the north side of Chicago Union Station this afternoon (Monday, May 8) with an extra coach and two additional sleeping cars compared to its […]

Weekend disruptions hit VIA, Amtrak long-distance trains (updated)

Amtrak passenger train with two locomotives

EDMONTON, Alberta — Early-season forest fires in Alberta temporarily shut down Canadian National’s main line between Jasper and Edmonton over the weekend, forcing VIA Rail Canada to turn the westbound and eastbound Canadians at those locations and bus passengers between them. Meanwhile, a variety of issues inflicted significant delays on Amtrak long-distance trains. This included […]

No injuries reported as Amtrak train strikes track equipment on Northeast Corridor

KINGSTON, R.I. — No injuries were reported after an Amtrak Northeast Regional train struck track equipment near Kingston on Friday night, according to news reports. WJAR-TV reports Washington-Boston train No. 178, carrying about 200 passengers, struck the equipment about 11:20 p.m. The station’s website has a photograph of an Amfleet coach immediately behind ACS64 locomotive […]

Kellogg’s asks to be part of shipper dispute over Amtrak trackwork plan in Pennsylvania

WASHINGTON – Tony the Tiger along with Snap, Crackle, and Pop are asking for a seat at the table so that they can have a say in the dispute over Amtrak’s plans to halt freight service to local customers in Pennsylvania for six weeks during a trackwork project. Kellogg Co. says that losing freight service […]

Chicago-St. Louis trains begin 110-mph running

Short passenger train with beat-up locomotive

CHICAGO — Starting today, Amtrak’s Lincoln Service trains will begin operating at 110-mph maximum speeds over Union Pacific’s former Gulf, Mobile & Ohio speedway between Laraway Road, south of Joliet, Ill., and the Alton, Ill., Amtrak station. Shortened schedules will be established at a later time “to ensure everything on the system is running properly […]

Amtrak faces major price tag for next step in Gateway Tunnel project

President of the U.S. speaking in rail facility surrounded by officials and railroad workers

NEW YORK — The last portion of a massive concrete box to carry the planned Gateway Tunnel project under development in Manhattan will cost more than $690 million — which could leave Amtrak to come up with more than $260 million in funding, NJ.com reports. The Gateway Development Commission, the bi-state organization overseeing the planned […]