ORLANDO – SunRail is reviving efforts for a 12-mile extension to DeLand, Fla., hoping to learn this summer whether it will obtain the needed federal funding, despite some local qualms about the project. The extension, which will require double-tracking from the current northern terminus of DeBary to DeLand, would complete construction along the 61-mile corridor […]
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NEW ORLEANS — Railroads in the New Orleans area continued to initiate contingency plans due to the threat of Tropical Storm Barry. BNSF Railway officials said Thursday that they were holding all New Orleans-bound trains from moving into the area. “Our operations teams are working with other carriers to identify alternate gateways unaffected by this […]
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A Canal Street streetcar in 2018. The system was shut down briefly by heavy rains on Wednesday. Bob Johnston NEW ORLEANS – With all of the Crescent City’s 200 flood gates set to shut by Friday in advance of approaching Tropical Storm Barry, Amtrak has cancelled all service in and out of New Orleans through […]
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Crowds greet a New Orleans-Jacksonville, Fla., inspection train at Mobile, Ala., on Feb. 18, 2016, at the former site of the Amtrak station once served by the Sunset Limited. A meeting is scheduled for this week in Mobile to address city council concerns about the planned revival of passenger service on the route. Bob Johnston […]
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MARTA General Manager Jeffrey Parker MARTA MARTA’s plans include several new rail projects. MARTA ATLANTA — The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority has set a timeline for a major system expansion, with projects including 29 new miles of light rail and a 2-mile extension of the Atlanta Streetcar. Jeffrey Parker, MARTA’s general manager and a […]
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During a 1967 financial analysts’ shop tour of the Southern’s Pegram Shop in Atlanta, an SD35 and GP30 have their high noses out in the Georgia sun. Walter A. Appel Early in 1967, the management of the Southern Railway invited members of the investment and financial communities to ride an inspection train from Cincinnati, Ohio, […]
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Floods continues to plague rail operations in the Mid-South, along with problems stemming from high winds and heavy rains. Union Pacific says that since June 24 “Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana experienced flooding and downed trees and power lines resulting in network outages,” which included closing of the River Subdivision between […]
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a tax case involving CSX Transportation and the state of Alabama for the third time — a decision Bloomberg News calls a partial win for both parties. The court rejected petitions by CSX and the Alabama Department of Revenue on Monday. That means a 2018 […]
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Virgin Trains USA President Patrick Goddard speaks at Monday’s ceremony to mark construction of the Virgin Trains route from West Palm Beach to Orlando, Fla. Construction is already under way on four fronts. RJ Hill Photo & Video/courtesy Virgin Trains USA ORLANDO, Fla. — Virgin Trains USA formally ushered in the “red spike era” Monday […]
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Open-side auto racks, like these hauling new Pontiacs, were common from the 1960s into the 1970s. Louisville & Nashville photo […]
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TAMPA, Fla. — Florida passenger train advocate and railway preservationist John McQuigg has died, his family announced. McQuigg, 87, passed away June 16. An unwavering passenger train supporter, he advocated for better Amtrak operations in his state, and he, along with other volunteers, were instrumental in saving Tampa Union Station. He served on the Friends […]
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Union Pacific, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern, and Florida East Coast have launched interline domestic intermodal service connecting California, Dallas, and Chicago with central Florida. The service, which launched today, uses the FEC terminal in Titusville, Fla., about 40 miles east of Orlando, Fla. UP handles both private and EMP containers between its terminals in […]
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