Second of two parts CHICAGO — The introduction of Venture business/coach cars on some state-supported Amtrak routes in the Midwest reflects an increase in availability of the Siemens-built equipment, delayed by a variety of production and acceptance issues. Meanwhile, there is still no firm date for the introduction of California’s Venture equipment, although a spokesman […]
SEATTLE — Amtrak Cascades between Seattle and Portland, Ore., remain suspended through Friday, April 14, while BNSF Railway crews clear a mudslide that has kept passenger trains from operating since Tuesday. Portland-Eugene, Ore., and Seattle-Vancouver, B.C., trains have continued to operate, while the Coast Starlight to and from Los Angeles has been turning at Portland. […]
First of two parts CHICAGO — After being delayed for several years by production setbacks and acceptance issues, the first of 17 state-owned Siemens Venture business-class cars are now hosting passengers on Midwest Amtrak routes. They are not being advertised, however, and you only need a regular coach ticket to ride the cars. They feature […]
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — The long disruption of Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink service in south Orange County is about to end. As of Monday, April 17, full daily Pacific Surfliner service between Los Angeles and San Diego — halted in September 2022 — will resume, as well as Metrolink service to Oceanside, Calif. Passenger traffic […]
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Funding to launch passenger rail service between the Twin Cities and Duluth, Minn., has been included in transportation bills in both houses of the Minnesota legislature, although the two versions provide substantially different levels of funding. The Duluth News Tribune reports that the budget bills prepared by both houses, controlled by […]
RICHMOND, Va. — The cost of a second rail bridge over the Potomac River — a key part of Virginia’s plan for major expansion of Amtrak and commuter-rail service on the I-95 corridor south from Washington, D.C.— has risen substantially, leading to a $389 million shortfall, the Washington Post reports.= The new two-track Long Bridge […]
WASHINGTON — For passengers on long-distance trains, compared to those on the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak is falling short of its pledge to “restore our business to pre-pandemic levels,” as voiced by Vice President Dennis Newman at a public Board of Directors meeting in St. Louis last December. Demand for long-distance travel was the strongest among […]
The Lionel F40PH is a great model of a locomotive that has quietly become one of the true diesel success stories in railroad history. The F40PH saw construction in various phases by General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division between 1975-92. Its purpose was initially short-haul passenger service for Amtrak. This mission was quickly revised to add long-distance […]
MONTREAL — The last of Amtrak’s cross-border trains, and the last route suspended at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, has finally been fully restored. After the New York-Montreal Adirondack made its first run on Monday, April 3, the first southbound train made the return trip today (Tuesday, April 4). It is shown above passing […]
LANCASTER, Pa.— Amtrak and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority train services on the Keystone Line, annulled on Sunday due to storm damage, was resumed late this morning after having been shut down Sunday. Early-morning Amtrak operations between Philadelphia and Harrisburg were annulled earlier today, as was service on SEPTA’s Thorndale and Paoli routes. Service was restored […]
CHICAGO — Midwest Amtrak service has resumed after a storm stretching from Arkansas to the East Coast disrupted routes with downed trees and power outages. Beginning Friday, March 31, many trains were held at stations while tracks and grade-crossing highway warning devices were cleared and inspected. Weather issues continued today (Sunday, April 2), when catenary […]
Amtrak E60 locomotives are an important bridge for Northeast Corridor electric railroading between the GG1s of the 1930s and 1940s to the AEM-7 and HHP-8 locomotives of the 1980s and early 2000s. E60 locomotive history General Electric developed the E60 C-C or six-axle locomotives at its Erie, Pa., plant in the early 1970s. The […]
