CHICAGO — Ongoing issues with the server involved with Amtrak’s positive train control system have led to the cancellation today (Saturday, March 25), of a number of trains in the Midwest and elsewhere. According to the Amtrak Alerts Twitter feed, 11 of the 13 Hiawatha service trains between Chicago and Milwaukee have been canceled as […]
CHICAGO — Amtrak trains on some routes are experiencing cancellations or delays today (Friday, March 24) as a result of a nationwide server issue that is keeping the positive train control initialization process from taking place. “It is a back-office issue, and we have been working with our [PTC] vendor to resolve it,” Amtrak spokesman […]
MIAMI — Brightline has completed work to improve 48 grade crossings in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, a $5.4 million project supported by a $2.3 million federal grant as well as local funding. Federal Railroad Administration funding came in the form of a $2.3 million Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement, or CRISI, grant […]
WASHINGTON — The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority aims to return to automated operation of DC Metrorail trains systemwide by this December, the Washington Post reports, reactivating a system shut off after a fatal 2009 collision. The return of Automatic Train Operation will end problems with operators running past red lights, missing stopping points at […]
ORLANDO, Fla. — In a significant milestone toward its effort to launch service to Orlando by midyear, Brightline will being testing at speeds up to 125 mph on its new 35-mile corridor between Cocoa, Fla., and Orlando International Airport as soon as today, March 1. In a Tuesday evening announcement, the passenger operator said test […]
DENVER — The Regional Transportation District does not have to pay builders of its commuter rail lines more than $100 million to cover costs related to grade-crossing problems, a Denver judge ruled Friday, while also turning down an RTD countersuit and effort to cancel its contract with those builders. The construction consortium, Denver Transit Partners, […]
LOS ANGELES — The $106.9 million awarded to Metrolink by the California State Transportation Agency will allow the commuter operator to continue progress on its SCORE (Southern California Optimized Rail Expansion) intiative, a $10 billion capital improvement program with the goal of enabling service at 30-minute intervals throughout the day. The Metrolink program was among […]
MONTREAL — The city of Montreal and the province of Quebec will spend more than C$565 million to begin operational upgrades on the city’s Metro system. CTV News reports the money will equip the Metro Blue Line with a new train control system, better managing spacing between trains, train speed, and track changes. Similar improvements […]
CHICAGO —Metra on Tuesday began the rollout of a new live train-tracking website which the Chicago-area commuter rail operator promises will allow riders to see the exact location of their trains and their station arrival times. The new site, metratracker.com, is made possible by a wholesale replacement of the previous train tracking system. It also […]
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Implementing positive train control was a long, costly process for the railroad industry. Now that it’s in place, the people who know it best — the communications and signal specialists — are finding there are a lot of benefits to the technology beyond its primary purpose of accident prevention. “As a […]
COCOA, Fla. — Brightline crews are set to resume 110-mph tests this Friday, Jan. 6, south of Fort Pierce, Fla., as part of continuing preparations for the passenger operator’s expansion of service to Orlando. The tests in Martin and St. Luicie counties, along an 11-mile stretch of the 129-mile segment of Florida East Coast Railway […]
SAN DIEGO — The North County Transit District’s Sprinter commuter rail line between Escondido and Oceanside will receive $7 million in federal funding for signal improvements, the first phase of a program to allow frequencies on the 22-mile, 15-station line to double from every 30 minutes to every 15 minutes. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports […]
