BOSTON — Five rail-related projects are among those in Massachusetts to receive U.S. Department of Transportation funding under various Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grant programs, Gov. Maura Healey and the state’s congressional delegation announced on Thursday, Jan. 9. In all, 11 projects were selected to receive a total of more than $102 million in funding. Three […]
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The joint Southern Pacific-Union Pacific-Chicago & North Western City of San Francisco crosses the Lucin Cutoff across the Great Salt Lake. Introduced in 1936, the train covered the 2,258 miles between Chicago and Oakland, Calif., in less than 40 hours. Southern Pacific photo […]
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AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine Switching Services, the freight operator on the state-owned Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad, has been selected by the Maine Department of Transportation to operate and maintain the state’s Rockland Branch, a 57-mile former Maine Central line. However, a pilot program to test passenger service on the route, in coordination with the […]
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LOS ANGELES — The firestorm devastating Southern California is, inevitably, affecting rail operations. Metrolink has suspended operations today (Thursday, Jan. 9) on its Antelope Valley Line between Lancaster and Vista Canyon because of firefighting activity, the operator reports. The suspension is until further notice. According to a Los Angeles Times map, the Lidia fire, at […]
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TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling for development of a freight rail bypass to the west of Toronto that he says would allow “significant, longer-term expansion” of GO Transit commuter rail service in the region. In a letter today (Jan. 9, 2025) to the chairman of provincial transit agency Metrolinx, posted on X.com, […]
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ORLANDO — The SunRail commuter service, funded and operated by Florida’s Department of Transportation since its opening in 2014, is locally funded as of Jan. 1. Spectrum News reports the local members of the governing Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission — Volusia, Seminole, Orange, and Osceola counties, and the city of Orlando — authorized the […]
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Train Sim World 5 is now available on a wide variety of platforms, including on PC, Xbox One and Series S|X, PlayStation 4 and 5, plus Steam Deck and via Epic Games Store. Join Trains.com talent Bryson Sleppy, as he walks you through TSW 5’s immersive virtual world of railroading…one that has growing appeal to […]
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SACRAMENTO — The state of California has unveiled a $310 billion plan to expand the state’s rail network to increase its share of passenger travel from 2% to 20% by 2050 through a network featuring extensive electrification and zero-emission operations. The new State Rail Plan was announced Jan. 7 by Gov. Gavin Newsom. It envisions […]
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ARLINGTON, Va. — The American Train Dispatchers Association has ratified a new national agreement with the National Carriers Conference Committee, the national bargaining group for major U.S. railroads. The agreement announced today (Jan. 8, 2025) is the fourth to be ratified, following deals with the National Conference of Firemen & Oilers, Transportation Communications Union, and […]
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PORT CLINTON, PA. — Almost 340,000 riders took part in Reading & Northern excursions in 2024, surpassing the previous mark of more than 322,000 in 2023 by 5%, the railroad has announced. The year included the opening of the new Nesquehoning Regional Railroad Station on the railroad’s Nesquehoning campus, which includes the railroad’s new shops […]
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CLEVELAND — A Cleveland man arrested in 2023 for allegedly attempting to derail trains has been sentenced to two years in federal prison and three years of probation. Joseph Findley, 43, had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of violence against railroad carriers. He was arrested in October 2023 after allegedly wedging spikes into switches […]
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WASHINGTON — Amtrak has announced a new set of weather-related train cancellations, this time in connection with a storm expected to hit Texas and the South beginning tonight (Wednesday, Jan. 8). A relatively small number of trains today through Friday, Jan. 10, are affected. On the Pacific Coast, Coast Starlight and Pacific Surfliner cancellations are […]
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