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Tuesday morning rail news: Congress to make Short Line Tax Credit permanent A provision in Congress’ new stimulus/coronavirus relief bill will make permanent the 45G Short Line Tax Credit, which provides a credit of up to $3,500 per mile for short line infrastructure projects. “We applaud Congress for their bipartisan, bicameral action to make the […]
More Tuesday morning rail news: Metra, CP, CREATE complete project in Franklin Park, Ill. Metra, Canadian Pacific, and Chicago’s CREATE program have completed the Canadian Pacific Crossover upgrade project in Franklin Park, Ill. The B1 project eliminates commuter and freight train delays by adding five crossovers and associated signals on Metra tracks used by the Milwaukee District […]
CUSTER, Wash. — A BNSF oil train derailed and caught fire late Tuesday morning in the small community of Custer leading to evacuations within a half-mile radius of the accident site. The Bellingham Herald reports seven cars of the train derailed about 11:40 a.m., with two catching fire. The train is reported to be carrying Bakken […]
VANCOUVER, B.C. — A slimmed-down, once-weekly VIA Rail Canada Canadian has resumed operation on the train’s route west of Winnipeg, Manitoba, operating with few of the features that defined the train prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada’s strict travel restrictions between provinces during the pandemic are a significant reason the Canadian and the Montreal-Halifax, Nova […]
Monday midday rail news: Bombardier to build 205 new cars for SkyTrain Bombardier has signed a contract to build 205 cars for SkyTrain, the rail rapid transit system of Vancouver, British Columbia, agency TransLink. The contract is valued at $565 million, and includes an option for up to 400 additional cars. Cars will be built […]
Still more Monday morning rail news: Sound Transit to introduce ‘fare engagement’ program in place of enforcement system Seattle’s Sound Transit will halt its fare enforcement program next year under a pilot program using “fare engagement ambassadors” to educate rather than penalize those who have not paid. The Seattle Times reports the ambassadors will replace […]
Another Canadian National heritage diesel has arrived in Canada. Painted in CN’s pre-1961 green-and-gold scheme, No. 7600, formerly GP38-2 No. 4728, was rebuilt to a GP40-3 by Progress Rail’s soon-to-close Tacoma, Wash., facility. It arrived in Canada Dec. 20 on CN train No. 148. Equipped for beltpack operation, the unit will eventually be mated with […]
After a major winter storm dropped a foot or more of snow earlier in the week, the New York, Susquehanna & Western ran a plow extra to clear its route on Saturday. Photographer Matt Podas believes it was the first use of the plow in at least two years, and reports it provided a rare […]
Monday morning rail news: Amtrak, transit funds part of new coronavirus stimulus packageCongress has agreed to a coronavirus aid and stimulus package worth about $900 billion that includes money for transit and Amtrak. The Washington Post reports the House summary of the bill’s contents lists $14 billion in aid for transit, and $1 billion for […]
KEARNY, N.J. — NJ Transit announced it had received Federal Railroad Administration certification for its positive train control system, ending doubts the agency could meet the Dec. 31, 2020, deadline for implementation. As recently as last month, the FRA said NJ Transit was in danger of missing the deadline. NJ Transit said the certification came […]
More Friday morning rail news: Amtrak inspector general says railroad has been mostly effective in handling CARES funds, but some flaws exist Amtrak has been effective in its use of and accounting for Federal CARES act relief funds, according to a report by the Amtrak Office of Inspector General, but there were some flaws in […]
Friday morning commuter rail and transit news: Metra sets schedule changes for four lines, will make two stations flag stops Metra will introduce new schedules on four lines as of Jan. 11, moves the agency says are intended to improve travel options and train operations across its system. Extensive changes are planned for the Milwaukee […]
