Virginia Railway Express CEO Dalton to step down

Man standing in front of commuter train

WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Virginia Railway Express CEO Rich Dalton, who has led the commuter operation since 2019, has announced plans to retire effective Oct. 3, 2025. Dalton announced his retirement plans at the VRE Operations Board meeting on June 20. Dalton joined VRE in 2009 as Chief Operating Officer, although he had been involved with […]

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Virginia approves six-year, $7 billion transportation plan

Logo of Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board has approved a six-year transportation improvement plan including more than $7 billion for public transi. Some $1.7 billion of that is slated for the Transforming Rail in Virginia project acquiring and developing rail lines for passenger service. Other key rail-related elements of the plan for fiscal years 2026 […]

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Heat concerns lead Ohio Rail Experience to postpone excursions

Passenger train led by black and yellow GP30

LEBANON, Ohio — The Ohio Rail Experience, the Cincinnati Scenic Railway excursion operation featuring rail lines that do not regularly host passenger trains, has postponed its trips scheduled for this weekend (June 28-29) over concerns about the ongoing heat wave in the Midwest and East. The predicted high temperatures, “combined with extreme humidity levels, could […]

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Long-term plan for MARC service includes route extensions, increased frequencies

BALTIMORE — Expanded weekday and weekend operation and extension of two of the system’s three lines are among changes proposed for MARC commuter train service in a report released Wednesday (June 25, 2025) by the Maryland Department of Transportation. The 76-page MARC Growth and Transformation Plan includes five-year, 15-year, and “unconstrained” (longer-term) plans. “Thanks to […]

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News photo: Amtrak now using converted P42 as cab car

Blue and red converted locomotive on end of passenger train.

Former P42 locomotive No. 184 has been transformed into non-powered cab car No. 9700, shown seen here trailing southbound Empire Service train 244 at Garrison, N.Y. Amtrak is beginning to utilize these new conversions instead of aging converted F40 locomotives and ex-Metroliner cab cars, dating from the 1960s, to facilitate push-pull service. Conversion of the […]

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Kansas City utility seeks $22 million in damages from BNSF

Coal train approaches with another visible in the distance

WASHINGTON – Evergy is seeking more than $22.2 million in damages from BNSF Railway for what the utility claims is the railroad’s refusal to deliver enough Powder River Basin coal to power plants in Missouri and Kansas in 2022. The Kansas City-based utility argues, in opening evidence filed with the Surface Transportation Board today, that […]

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HDR to provide engineering services for High Desert Corridor project

Map of High Desert Corridor route

LOS ANGELES — Engineering firm HDR will provide, engineering, design, and advisory services for the High Desert Corridor high speed rail project, the company has announced. The High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Authority, which seeks to build a 54-mile line between Palmdale and Victorville, Calif., that would eventually connect the Brightline West and California High-Speed […]

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Rail unions warn DOT rule change could jeopardize train safety

Maintenance-of-way employees working on track in front of station

WASHINGTON — Rail unions are raising concerns about the Trump administration’s plan to roll back protections for federal inspectors and investigators put in place in 2021 that they say could increase safety risks in the rail industry. In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in May, the U.S. Department of Transportation proposed several changes to […]

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