Montreal commuter rail lines threatened

Cab car leads train of blue-and-silver commuter coaches at station

  MONTREAL — There are Montreal commuter rail lines threatened with closure. A report by Autorité Régionale de Transport Métropolitain suggests that closing three commuter rail lines could save up to C$21 million annually, CBC News reports. Commuters would be served by bus connection to adjacent rail lines instead.   They are the three least-traveled EXO commuter […]

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Colorado’s San Luis Central reopens line

Green-and-yellow diesel locomotive on five culverts over waterway with pink railcar

MONTE VISTA, Colo. — The San Luis Central reopens its main line running the first train to operate since May 24, 2024. Here, it crosses an irrigation canal on newly installed culverts that repaired a washout on this section of line on Sept. 9, 2024. Electro-Motive SW8, No. 70, with General Manager Tom Tancula at […]

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Norfolk Southern dismisses CEO Alan Shaw, promotes Chief Financial Officer Mark George to president and chief executive

Head shot of man in suit

ATLANTA – Norfolk Southern today terminated the contracts of embattled CEO Alan Shaw and the railroad’s chief legal officer, Nabanita Nag, for having a consensual relationship in violation of company policy. The NS board unanimously named Chief Financial Officer Mark George as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately, the railroad announced Wednesday evening. George […]

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Study on impact of long freight trains is due out next week

Yellow locomotives in with double-stack cars ahead and behind

WASHINGTON – The long-awaited National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report on the impact of long freight trains will be released next week. “Over the last two decades, railroad companies have been operating increasingly longer trains to reduce the number of crews, locomotives, and overall number of trains needed,” the academies said today. “In […]

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Four Amtrak board nominees to be questioned at Senate hearing

Trains Washington Watch logo

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee will hold a confirmation hearing tomorrow (Wednesday, Sept. 11) for four nominees to the Amtrak board of directors. The hearing will take place in Room 253 of the Russell Office building and will be live-streamed on the committee’s website starting at 10 a.m. Eastern. Written testimony from the […]

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No deal for planned Brightline station in Stuart, Florida

Passenger train at grade crossing

STUART, Fla. – Nearly six months after its March 4 ceremony, announcing a new intermediate station to be constructed in downtown Stuart, Brightline is now heading back to the drawing board. The TC Palm newspaper reported a city commissioners meeting on Sept. 9 to rescind both its ground lease and interlocal agreements with the passenger […]

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The future of the locomotive

A black and orange trimmed locomotive

Predicting the future is tricky business. Circumstances can change at the drop of a hat, opening up previously unforeseen possibilities. However, with analysis and careful guesswork, a prediction can be made. With that in mind, let us examine the future of the locomotive on the U.S. rail network. The current state of railroading To predict […]

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