The westbound California Zephyr blasts through Plano, Ill., on Dec. 2, 2019. Plano’s Amtrak station could become a station for an extension of Metra’s BNSF line into Kendall County, Ill. TRAINS: David Lassen PLANO, Ill. — The opportunity has begun for the public to inspect and consider aspects of the proposed extension of Metra commuter […]
PITTSBURGH — Norfolk Southern and groups representing residents of Pittsburgh’s North Side will go to a mediator to address concerns about the railroad’s plans to upgrade a route to handle double-stack container trains. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that an attorney representing the Northside Leadership Conference says that he and the railroad are choosing a mediator […]
TRENTON — NJ Transit will not restore express service on its Pascack Valley line until the commuter railroad has more engineers available, NorthJersey.com reports. The express trains are part of a dispute between NJ Transit and Metro-North, which pays the New Jersey agency to operate some services extending into New York state. [See “Metro-North to […]
WASHINGTON — A group of 13 U.S. Senators, all Democrats, have written Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson requesting that the passenger railroad do away with its recent move requiring passengers to accept arbitration rather than being able to sue — a request Anderson quickly turned down. In January, Amtrak changed the contract language accompanying its tickets […]
Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Nov. 23, 2019. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 521,927 carloads and intermodal units, up 10.6% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending Nov. 23 were […]
Amtrak Store website screen image WASHINGTON — You might be too late to grab a “Surprise and Delight” railfan gift box Amtrak offered for sale on Monday. A National Railroad Passenger Corp. representative confirmed to Trains on Monday afternoon that the railroad’s online store offered a limited set of 50 surprise boxes to customers — announcing […]
Passengers fill the Holland, Mich., station on Nov. 29, 2019, waiting for the sold-out Pere Marquette to Chicago. Bob Johnston NEW YORK — Once again, the nation’s TV viewers were treated to a steady diet of reporters doing obligatory stand-ups during the Thanksgiving holiday that bemoaned cancelled flights and snow-clogged highways from Denver through the […]
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators have given Canadian Pacific a limited victory in its dispute with Canadian National over where the railroads should interchange traffic in Chicago. CN’s unilateral request to have Canadian Pacific run 84 miles through the busy Chicago terminal in order to interchange at Kirk Yard in Gary, Ind., is unreasonable, the Surface […]
Alan Doyle and Beautiful Band perform for the crowd gathered to see them and the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train at Mechanicville, N.Y., on Nov. 26. Dan Kittay The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train rests at Mechanicville, N.Y., during a recent stop. Two trains, similarly decorated with lights and decorations, travel the Canadian Pacific network each November […]
Canadian Pacific plans to use the Minneapolis land formerly occupied by its Shoreham Yard roundhouse, torn down earlier this year, to expand an intermodal facility is meeting with some local opposition. Steve Glischinski MINNEAPOLIS — Community officials have been caught off guard by Canadian Pacific plans to redevelop a portion of its Shoreham Yard facility, […]
Mainline steam in November 2019: Polish 2-6-2 Ol49 59 is about to leave Wolsztyn with the 11:37 service to Leszno on Nov. 22, 2019. The 80-minute one-way steam trip cost around $3. Keith Fender WARSAW — Daily steam hauled passenger services survive on two regional commuter rail lines in western Poland but seem set to […]
GOTHENBURG, Sweden — Leave it to Swedes to come up with the politely sharp repartee rail promoters often lack by taking a vintage streetcar to a cutting edge electric automobile show. Western Sweden’s public transit manager, Västtrafik, is responsible for the glossy, deadpan exhibit at eCarExpo in Gothenburg — which the transport provider claims is […]
