NEW YORK — Amtrak will shut down one tube of the East River Tunnel for major rehabilitation as planned on Friday night, but has agreed to some measures sought by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul during the project, Hochul said in a statement following a meeting today (May 22, 2025) with Amtrak and Metropolitan Transportation […]
WASHINGTON — Overall revenue is up, costs are being contained, expansion plans remain on track, and Amtrak is taking detailed steps to ensure summer 2024 problems on the Northeast Corridor in New Jersey won’t happen again. That’s a summary of issues covered in the live-streamed public portion of an Amtrak board meeting held today (May […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s overall customer on-time performance improved in the first quarter of 2025, compared to the previous quarter, according to the latest report from the Federal Railroad Administration. But the 72% overall figure is down from 77% in the same quarter a year ago, and none of the company’s three business segments (long distance, […]
CHICAGO — Amtrak says ridership on the St. Paul-Chicago route is up 227% since the introduction of the Borealis, which made its debut one year ago today, on May 21, 2024. Preliminary figures through the first 11 months of service show more than 205,800 riders on the Borealis, funded by the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, […]
ORLANDO — Amtrak’s decision last fall to create the Chicago-Miami Floridian out of the Capitol Limited and Silver Star — ostensibly to reduce equipment moves during East River tunnel reconstruction in New York — is facing additional timekeeping obstacles over its 2,076-mile, 44-intermediate-stop route this summer. A cell phone text message dinged Sunday (May 18) […]
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota legislators have passed a bill withdrawing $77 million in funding for development of Northern Lights Express passenger service between the Twin Cities and Duluth, Minn., with one lawmaker calling the proposed rail service “effectively dead.” Along with defunding the passenger project, House File 1143 also cut special education funds by […]
Fifty years ago, in the May 1975 Trains Magazine, prolific author William D. Middleton visited New York City’s Grand Central Terminal. His 14 page article opened on a down note, with Middleton writing: Grand Central’s great long-distance trains are gone now. deposed by the airplane and the automobile: and no longer do the rich, the […]
OLYMPIA, Wash. — A bill calling for major expansion of Amtrak Cascades service, as well as improved travel times, is awaiting the signature of Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson after its passage by the state legislature. House Bill 1857 sets a target of a minimum of 14 daily round trips between Seattle and Portland, Ore., and […]
Interested in riding the railroad? One of the best windows on the railroad world are passenger trains, and you have plenty of options. Amtrak, a government corporation that took over nearly all U.S. intercity passenger trains from private railroads in 1971, today operates a 21,000-mile network that includes 500 stations in 46 states served by […]
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Metropolitan Council, which oversees transit and other governmental functions in the seven-county Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, has approved a plan to lease surplus Northstar commuter rail equipment to Dallas Area Rapid Transit and Amtrak. The Minnesota Star Tribune reports that the council, at a May 14 meeting, agreed to lease […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration is seeking input from tunneling firm Boring Co., founded and controlled by Elon Musk, regarding construction of a new Northeast Corridor rail tunnel in Baltimore for which Amtrak has already begun construction activities. The news comes shortly after Amtrak’s decision to eliminate or not fill 450 managerial positions. Earlier […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX was able to repair flood damage to former Baltimore & Ohio main lines in the Cumberland, Md., area overnight, allowing freight and Amtrak service to resume. The CSX routes sustained damage during heavy rainstorms on Tuesday [see “Flooding knocks out key CSX routes …,” Trains News Wire, May 15, 2025]. “We’re […]
