Amtrak’s Illinois Zephyr passes through Lisle, Ill., on the BNSF Railway on May 25, 2019. Among items in the new Illinois budget is funding for two additional state-supported Amtrak trains and extension of BNSF commuter service into Kendall County. TRAINS: David Lassen SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — In a surprise Saturday session, the Illinois General Assembly passed a […]
A South Charleston police cruiser was destroyed Sunday after getting stuck on a CSX right-of-way near Charleston, W.Va. The car became stuck on a rail while in pursuit of a vehicle. Two photos, Harry Hamrick CHARLESTON, W.Va. – For the second time in two weeks, a police car has been involved in a collision with […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined a request from the Association of American Railroads to review a lower-court ruling regarding the authority of Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration to establish on-time performance metrics and standards for Amtrak operation on host freight railroads. The convoluted legal history of the case has seen a […]
ST. LOUIS — Amtrak’s suspension of Missouri River Runner operation between St. Louis and Kansas City has been extended again, this time through at least Wednesday, June 5. Rerouted Union Pacific freight traffic, the result of flooding elsewhere in the Midwest, continues to lead to track congestion resulting in the suspension. Chartered buses are substituting […]
DALLAS — Trinity Rail Maintenance Services, a subsidiary of carbuilder Trinity Rail, has announced it will build a $60 million railcar repair facility in the eastern Iowa community of Shell Rock. The company, headquartered in Dallas, has purchased a 230-arce site for the facility, which will employ more than 250 people when completed in 2020. […]
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Efforts to advance proposed Amtrak service between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Duluth-Superior will have to wait another year after the Minnesota legislature failed to address a bill which included funding for the proposed Northern Lights Express. The proposed $550 million cost of starting the service, including adding capacity to BNSF’s main line, […]
Connecticut Department of Transportation M2 No. 8705 leads a weekend Metro-North New Haven-Grand Central terminal train at West Haven, Conn., March 7, 2015. This M2 set would be one of the last of the fleet to operate until the end of 2018. Scott A. Hartley NEW HAVEN, Conn. – After more than 44 years of […]
The westbound California Zephyr passes through West Hinsdale, Ill., on May 23, 2019. The westbound Zephyr will return to its regular BSNF route today after two days of detours and cancellations, while the Southwest Chief and Texas Eagle are also experiencing service disruptions. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — An early morning track closure Friday because […]
UP 4014, seen in Wyoming earlier this month, will run in California in October. Trains: Jim Wrinn POMONA, Calif. — Payback can be pretty sweet, afterall. The organization that traded Big Boy No. 4014 to the Union Pacific in 2013 said Friday it will get an excursion with the locomotive Oct. 12 and 13. According […]
CALGARY, Alberta — For the second year in a row, Canadian Pacific has pulled an international intermodal contract away from rival Canadian National. CP today announced that it would begin hauling Yang Ming Marine Transport’s containers at the Port of Vancouver, British Columbia, effective Jan. 1, 2020. The contract with the Taiwan-based steamship line […]
CHICAGO — Canadian National officials seek to double-track 4.27 miles of former Elgin, Joliet & Eastern track to speed the flow of freight and bypass Chicago’s congested rail hub, but the plan is facing a regulatory hurdle and growing opposition from municipalities and residents. CN, acting under its Wisconsin Central Limited Railroad subsidiary, has applied […]
A route map of the proposed Brooklyn-Queens Connector streetcar. New York City Economic Development Corp. NEW YORK — The proposed Brooklyn-Queens Connector light rail line, known as BQX, received its first city council discussion Thursday when the council’s task force on the project received an update on the 3-year-old plan. Gothamist reports that city officials […]
