BNSF, J.B. Hunt participate in wreath-laying event in Southern California

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — BNSF Railway and multimodal transportation company J.B. Hunt are transporting more than 6,400 wreaths to Riverside National Cemetery as part of their annual participation in the Wreaths Across America program. Today (Friday, Dec. 16), at 7 a.m. PST, a J.B. Hunt truck accompanied by a Patriot Guard motorcycle escort will move the […]

Read More…

Traveling through the mountains via rail

Rocky Mountaineer train going past trees on rail

Traveling through the mountains Having never visited Canada before September and thus never having an opinion of the Canadian Rockies, except visualizing something like Colorado, my first brush with Canada revealed I frivolously misperceived the legitimacy of its mountain railroad scene. New realizations Prior to several realizations, this experience brought me to Calgary on Canadian […]

Read More…

Metrolink brings back Rose Parade service

LA_UnionStation_2_Lassen

LOS ANGELES — For the first time since 2020, LA-area commuter rail operator Metrolink will offer early-morning service for those planning to attend the Rose Parade in Pasadena, set for Jan. 2, 2023. Trains will be just $10 with a special Holiday Pass. Trains will operate to LA Union Station on the Ventura County, Antelope […]

Read More…

Large scale boxcars and graffiti in an art exhibit

boxcar with graffiti

Large scale boxcars and graffiti in an art exhibit: The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles (MOCA) opened its Art in the Streets show on April 17, 2011. It is the first major US museum exhibition on the history of graffiti and street art, tracing its development from the 1970s to the global movement […]

Read More…

LA Metro seeks $1.9 billion from California for three light rail projects

Illustration of light rail train running in street

LOS ANGELES — The LA Metro board has submitted a package seeking $1.9 billion in funding from the state of California for three light rail projects, Metro announced today (Wednesday, Dec. 7). The funds would come from the state’s Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program. Funding from that program is expected to be awarded on […]

Read More…

Southern California’s Arrow service adds trains

Blue and white diesel multiple-unit trainset at station platform

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Southern California’s Arrow commuter rail service, the 9-mile line connecting Redlands to the existing Metrolink network at San Bernardino, will expand its schedule as of this Friday, Dec. 9, with the completion of Quiet Zones along the full route. With Quiet Zones in place, weekday operation will begin more than an […]

Read More…

LA Metro board selects route for Eastside Corridor light rail extension

Map showing options for LA Metro light rail project

LOS ANGELES — The LA Metro Board has selected the route for Phase 2 of the Eastside Transit Corridor project, which will extend the L (Gold) light rail line from East Los Angeles to Whittier. The selected route will extend the line by 9 miles from its current terminus at Pomona/Atlantic in East Los Angeles […]

Read More…

Santa Cruz commission votes for study to define passenger rail proposal

Logo of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Local officials have agreed to provide funds to start a study to shape a proposal for a 22-mile electrified passenger rail system in Santa Cruz County — although they are providing only half the funds needed for what is expected to be a two-year study and lack the funds to complete […]

Read More…

Altamont Corridor Express locomotive fleet switches to renewable diesel fuel

Commuter train with blievel cars

STOCKTON, Calif. — The Altamont Corridor Express locomotive fleet is now running solely on renewable diesel fuel, the commuter service’s parent agency, the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission, has announced. The agency says the switch will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 99% and is a key step toward its goal of net-zero-emission operations. “Our commitment […]

Read More…

Amtrak San Diego service through the years

Amtrak San Diego service passenger train along ocean coastline

Amtrak San Diego service has seen a gradual increase since startup.     Amtrak operated two daily trains on the San Diego to Los Angeles route when it started service on May 1, 1971. The trains retained the San Diegan branding inherited from the Santa Fe, which continued to operate freight service over the line. […]

Read More…

Former Amtrak employee and husband plead guilty in COVID unemployment insurance fraud case

U.S. Department of Justice seal

LOS ANGELES — A former Amtrak employee and her husband have pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges for conspiring to steal nearly $1 million in COVID-19-related unemployment insurance benefits, while she also fraudulently obtained more than $63,000 in sickness benefits while working at Amtrak. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced […]

Read More…

Surfliner, Metrolink service not likely to be fully restored until February

Blue and silver-painted locomotive at a station platform surrounding by brown steel work and palm trees. Amtrak Pacific Surfliner renewable diesel.

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Resumption of Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink commuter rail service along an unstable section of track near San Clemente is now not expected to resume until February, the Orange County Transportation Authority said last week. Passenger service through the section of south Orange County was halted Sept. 30 because of movement […]

Read More…