MBTA expands commuter-rail fare discounts during Sumner Tunnel project

MBTA commuter train on bridge

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and its contract operator, Keolis, will expand planned fare reductions on the Newburyport/Rockport commuter rail line to help address the upcoming Sumner Tunnel reconstruction project, the MBTA announced on Thursday. From July 1 through Aug. 31, the fare for the entire line will be $2.40, the equivalent of […]

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Madison Hardware’s gold Lionel EP-5 shells

Madison Hardware’s gold Lionel EP-5 shells are a story akin to getting lemons and making lemonade. The store sold unusual Lionel trains from all periods of production. Lou Shur and Carl Shaw, the brothers who ran the legendary retail outlet in New York City until it closed in 1989, seemed to have endless supplies of […]

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Minor leaguer’s home run hits passing train

Image of ballpark outfield with autoracks passing by.

WORCESTER, Mass. — When Trains Magazine wrote about baseball parks near railroad tracks (“High iron baseball,” June 2023), one of the qualifications for the article was the ability to see trains pass from within the ballpark. Worcester’s Polar Park didn’t make the magazine — although it’s in this Trains.com article — but it’s clear it […]

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B&O freight on the old Buffalo & Susquehanna

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Consolidation 3127 climbs toward Cutler Summit with the first cut of a train the elderly 2-8-0 is doubling up the hill. This is Baltimore & Ohio’s former Buffalo & Susquehanna line near the New York-Pennsylvania boundary in September 1955. Philip R. Hastings photo […]

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News photos: Northern Central’s celebration

Passenger train with replica vintage steam locomotive and 0-4-0T engine.

NEW FREEDOM, Pa. — Northern Central Railway of York hauled more than 500 passengers on six trips during the weekend-long 10th anniversary celebration for the non-profit operation [see “Pennsylvania’s Northern Central Railway to mark 10th anniversary,” Trains News Wire, June 14, 2023]. Trips were powered by the railway’s Kloke 4-4-0 No. 17; Northern Central GP9 […]

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NJ Transit okays $19 million for PTC upgrades

NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit will spend $19 million on upgrades to positive train control, keeping its system current with federal regulations and changes made by railroads used by the commuter operators’ trains. NJ.com reports the NJ Transit board approved the spending on June 14. It comes in the form of an amendment to an […]

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NJ Transit, BLET reach settlement over 2022 sick-out

An NJ Transit Bergen County Line train

NEWARK, N.J. — The National Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen will pay $50,000 to NJ Transit to settle a claim over an illegal job action on last year’s Juneteenth holiday, the transit agency announced Thursday. Engineers did not report for their assignments on June 17, 2022, leading to the cancellation of nearly 300 trains. […]

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SEPTA picks up more riders on second day after bridge collapse

SEPTA train near sunset with Philadelphia skyline in background

PHILADELPHIA — Four SEPTA Regional Rail lines saw a ridership increase of 14% on Tuesday, the second day of commuting following the collapse of a bridge on Interstate 95, according to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. The Metro Philadelphia news site reports the Trenton, West Trenton, Fox Chase, and Warminster lines had an increase of […]

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