LOS ANGELES — A rare tropical storm warning for Southern California is leading to a series of cancellations on Amtrak routes to and from Los Angeles beginning today (Saturday, Aug. 19). Commuter service on the San Diego-Oceanside Coaster will also be affected and LA-area Metrolink service is also likely to see changes. All three-long distance […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak on Thursday announced the launch of “Amtrak Gives Back,” which it calls “a community engagement program focused on being a good neighbor and valuable partner to the communities it serves.” The company will look to help non-profit organizations in communities served by the passenger operator, “including those that promote diversity and inclusion,” […]
BALTIMORE — Amtrak is going to court to acquire four small pieces of land in West Baltimore it says it needs for the project to replace the aging Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel, one of the most significant bottlenecks on the Northeast Corridor. The Washington Post reports the company has filed suit to acquire the properties […]
SEATTLE — Amtrak and the Washington State Department of Transportation have introduced the first electric bus used as part of the Amtrak network, providing service on the Amtrak Cascades route between Seattle and Bellingham, Wash. Mid-day buses help fill the gap between the morning and evening trains on the Cascades route between Seattle and Bellingham; […]
PHILADELPHIA — Renovations underway at Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station will restore a direct pedestrian tunnel connection to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s Market-Frankfort Line, eliminated in 1984, the website Billy Penn reports. Currently, the connection requires going above ground and following a route without signage that crosses a street that is an exit route off Interstate […]
It’s the Atlas O Amtrak Genesis P42 locomotive, and not one of them, but two! We’re going to get up close to see some of the great features that these have. These are Premier line tooling, which means they are former MTH locomotives purchased when the company sold off some of its tooling a few […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak is working with Texas Central on efforts to determine the viability of the Texas company’s planned high-speed service between Dallas and Houston, and the two entities have submitted applications for federal grants for study and design work, Amtrak announced in a press release today. “If we are going to add more high-speed […]
WASHINGTON — A survey commissioned by Amtrak has found strong support for spending on passenger rail service and infrastructure, with most of those responding calling for more passenger spending in their own states. The poll conducted by the Mellman Group surveyed 1,000 registered voters. Among its results: 92% support investment in passenger rail safety and […]
Freight locomotives on passenger trains can happen for a variety of reasons and make for memorable images. Early in Amtrak’s history, locomotives painted in the colors of freight-hauling railroads were common. In Amtrak’s “rainbow era” days, 50 years ago, the then-new National Railroad Passenger Corporation operated with leased or hand-me-down equipment, inherited from — and […]
SANDPOINT, Idaho — Thanks to an all-day work window on Aug. 6, 2023, the final track segments have been put into place to complete BNSF Railway’s 2-mile double-tracking project at the east end of its busy “Funnel” between Spokane, Wash., and Sandpoint. Completion of the new 4,873-foot bridge across Lake Pend Oreille in November 2022 […]
AMSTERDAM, N.Y. — Tracks have been cleared and rail service can resume through the site of a CSX Transportation derailment that occurred west of Schenectady, N.Y., on Friday morning, a railroad representative told the Daily Gazette newspaper this afternoon (Monday, Aug. 7). Thirteen cars of a 157-car CSX train en route from Selkirk, N.Y. to […]
CHICAGO — Access to Chicago Union Station will change beginning this evening (Monday, Aug. 7) as the Chicago Department of Transportation begins an 18-month process to rehabilitate four viaducts on Canal Street between Taylor and Madison streets. As a result, no vehicle access to Union Station between West Adams Street and West Jackson Boulevard, and […]
