TACOMA, Wash. — One month shy of four years since a fatal derailment on the inaugural morning postponed their debut, Amtrak trains between Seattle and Portland, Ore., are using Sound Transit’s Lakewood Subdivision and a new station co-located with the agency’s commuter service. Using the new route, funded with state and federal funds as part […]
MINNEAPOLIS – The Friends of the 261, the nonprofit organization that owns and operates Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 No. 261, has purchased well-known private car Caritas, Friends of the 261 President and Chief Operating Officer Steve Sandberg tells Trains “News Wire.” Sandberg says the group acquired the car in a bankruptcy auction from the bankruptcy court […]
MOBILE, Ala. — In a filing with the Surface Transportation Board earlier this month, CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern asserted the railroads’ freight operation will suffer a “catastrophic meltdown” if Amtrak is allowed to add two daily passenger round trips between New Orleans and Mobile. Yet the 277-page “opening evidence” document by the two carriers […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has scheduled hearings on three major issues: the CSX acquisition of Pan Am Railways; Amtrak’s bid to operate trains between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., and its reciprocal switching proposal. All three hearings will be held in the hearing room at the STB’s Washington headquarters, with additional specifics to […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s request for cooperation from CSX has received a harsh response from the freight railroad. A CSX filing with the Surface Transportation Board says the passenger railroad is seeking “unrestrained access” to the route of proposed service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., and wants “a blank check to perform whatever work it […]
SEATTLE — Almost four years after the derailment that halted its use, Amtrak trains will return to the Point Defiance bypass south of Tacoma, Wash., on Thursday, Nov. 18. Initially, eight trains — the Amtrak Cascades service and the Coast Starlight — will use the 14.5-mile inland route, which parallels Interstate 5. It departs from […]
WINTER PARK, Colo. — Amtrak’s Winter Park Express ski train service will return in January, launching 12 weeks of Friday-Saturday-Sunday service between Denver and the Winter Park Resort. Service begins the weekend of Jan. 14-16 and will continue through the weekend of April 1-3, with one-way fares beginning at $29, and fares for kids ages […]
WASHINGTON—The $66 billion set aside for passenger rail in the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act holds the promise of jumpstarting projects across the country, but the Federal Railroad Administration still must develop criteria to prioritize which investments receive funding. Those criteria are will have to be determined in the next 180 days, but […]
WASHINGTON — Major rail groups have applauded Friday’s passage of a major infrastructure bill by the U.S. House of Representatives which will include major funding for freight and passenger projects. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden for his signature. The $1.2 trillion bill includes $550 billion in entirely new investments, the Washington Post […]
WASHINGTON — CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern say addition of Amtrak trains along the Gulf Coast would cause a “systematic failure” in their ability to provide freight service, based on traffic modeling, and would “devastate first-mile last-mile service to freight customers in the region,” according to a filing with the Surface Transportation Board. But while […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. — While Greyhound announced last week that it will resume cross-border intercity bus service between U.S. and Canadian destinations Nov. 8, no firm date has been finalized for restoring Amtrak trains serving Vancouver, B.C., Toronto, and Montreal. U.S. citizens have been able to visit Canada since Aug. 9, but Canadians won’t be able […]
In the not-too-distant past, Amtrak provided route guides and timetables with a wealth of information about not only sights and points of interest along its routes, but also what to expect on each train: Is there checked baggage service? Are pillows available for coach passengers? What kind of dining options are offered? Through 2017, Amtrak […]
