Metrolink brings back $15 Summer Day Pass

Silver, teal, and black locomotive pushes train out of station

LOS ANGELES — Metrolink has revived its $15 Summer Day Pass, a seasonal weekday special fare available through Friday, Aug. 30. The special pass, first offered in 2022, is offered alongside the agency’s $10 weekend day pass, which remains available through the summer. The Summer Day Pass will be available on all weekdays except July […]

Read More…

FTA awards $343 million to eight transit agencies for station upgrades (updated)

Maintenance workers at station platform

EAST ORANGE, N.J. — Eight rail transit systems will receive a total of $343 million to modernize stations, improving access for passengers including those with disabilities and injuries, under grants announced today by the Federal Transit Administration. The grants, under the FTA’s All Stations Accessibility Program, were announced in an event at NJ Transit’s Brick […]

Read More…

Amtrak Superliner Cars

The recent shortage of Amtrak long-distance sleeper cars has hoisted the venerable, but rapidly aging, Superliner equipment into the spotlight again. You can read more about past and present Superliner woes in the article, “Superliner capacity not a new issue”, appearing in the July 2024 issue of Trains magazine. But first, catch a glimpse of […]

Read More…

Union Pacific releases schedule for Big Boy ‘Westward Bound Tour’

Steam locomotive smokes profusely among trees

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific has released the schedule for Big Boy No. 4014’s “Westward Bound Tour” to Roseville, Calif., and back, which begins June 30, and concludes July 26, and will include one excursion — July 14 from Roseville to Sparks, Nev. The locomotive will be on display for two days in Roseville (July […]

Read More…

Santa Barbara agency asks for agreement for launch of Metrolink service

Amtrak_Metrolink_Lassen

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The board of directors of the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments has directed its staff to prepare a formal agreement for commuter rail service between Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, following a meeting of the organization on Wednesday, KEYT-TV reports. The proposal would add an early-morning Metrolink trip for commuters […]

Read More…

Efforts advance to extend Metrolink service into Santa Barbara County

Commuter train with white locomotive emerges from tunnel

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Efforts to extend Metrolink commuter rail service into Santa Barbara County are gaining ground, the online news site Noozhawk reports. A committee of the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments is set to discuss a one-year pilot program to extend service from Ventura County to Santa Barbara and Goleta, Calif., today […]

Read More…

LA airport people mover gets another $200 million in funding

Automated people mover on bridge over street

LOS ANGELES — The board overseeing Los Angeles International Airport has approved an additional $200 million in funding for the airport people mover under construction, addressing disputes with the builder that have slowed the project. The news site LAist reports the money approved by the board of airport commissioners pushes the overall budget for the […]

Read More…

Sand takes increasing role to protect rail line in San Clemente, Calif.

Cab car leads passenger train along track next to ocean

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Use of some 500,000 cubic yards of sand as a buffer has been added to the Orange County Transportation Authority’s plans to protect the Surf Line through San Clemente, the Orange County Register reports. The route used by Metrolink commuter trains, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliners, and BNSF freight traffic has been plagued […]

Read More…

Siemens to build high speed trainsets for Brightline West

Rendering of high speed passenger train

LAS VEGAS — Siemens Mobility has been selected as the “preferred bidder” to build the initial trainsets for the Brightline West high speed rail project, Brightline announced today (Wednesday, May 1). Siemens will build 10 “American Pioneer 220” trainsets and receive a 30-year contract for maintenance at a facility in Sloan, Nev., under the agreement. […]

Read More…

55 injured in collision of LA Metro light rail train, USC bus

Aerial view of collision between bus and light rail train

LOS ANGELES — At least 55 people were injured when an LA Metro light rail train and a University of Southern California shuttle bus collided today (Tuesday, April 30) outside Exposition Park near the USC campus, the Los Angeles Times reports. L.A. City firefighters received a report of the accident at a grade crossing at […]

Read More…

Motorcar rides on California’s historic Placerville Branch

Surrounded by trees, two yellow motorcars rest on a single-track rail line

If history had played out differently, our motorcar ride this summer day in the wooded foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada would instead take place aboard Amtrak’s California Zephyr, instead of on Fairmont “track speeders.” The track would belong to Union Pacific, not a joint-powers authority. It’d be home to stack trains and AC engines. That’s […]

Read More…