Digest: NJ Transit train derails, halting North Jersey Coast Line service

New Jersey Transit logo

Tuesday morning derailment news: No injuries reported as NJ Transit train derails Traffic on NJ Transit’s North Jersey Coast Line is expected to be suspended into New York City through this morning’s commute after an early-morning derailment. NJ.com reports train No. 3292, due to arrive at New York Penn Station at 1:18 a.m., derailed about […]

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Digest: Bay Area transit workers ask for use of capital funds to avoid layoffs

Metropolitan Transportation Commission logo

Tuesday morning transit news: Labor groups ask Bay Area agency to use capital funds to prevent layoffs A coalition of labor groups are asking the agency which coordinates transit planning in the San Francisco Bay Area to set aside $100 million to prevent layoffs to hundreds of employees. The Marin Independent Journal reports the Metropolitan […]

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Digest: San Francisco Muni could spend ‘tens of millions’ to redo part of two-year-old tunnel project

San Fransisco Muni logo

More Friday morning rail news: San Francisco Muni may have to spend millions to redo part of tunnel project Just two years after completing a $52 million tunnel project, San Francisco’s Municipal Transportation Agency will be forced to redo part of the project because of potential stability problems in the track used by Muni light […]

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Onboard analysis: ‘Coast Starlight’ is busy overnight

Amtrak train at Jack London Square Station

Third in a series OAKLAND, Calif. — The Los Angeles-Seattle Coast Starlight was a 1971 Amtrak concoction cobbling together three trains: Southern Pacific’s Coast Daylight and overnight Cascade, even though the SP trains hadn’t connected at the time, and the unnamed Portland, Ore.-Seattle Burlington Northern or Union Pacific “pool trains.” Originally, and ambitiously, the south […]

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Pacific Harbor Line to test new Progress Rail battery locomotive

Progress Rail's EMD Joule battery-electric locomotive

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Pacific Harbor Line, which serves the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, will become the first U.S. railroad to take delivery of Progress Rail’s EMD Joule battery-electric locomotive. The six-axle, zero-emission locomotive will develop 3,200 hp and will be tested in all forms of service on PHL as part of […]

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Digest: Comment period in progress for Santa Cruz, Calif., transit proposals

map of light rail system

Tuesday morning rail news: Commuter rail, light rail among alternatives to be weighed for Santa Cruz, Calif., transit project
 The comment period for a proposed transit corridor along a rail branch line serving Santa Cruz, Calif., has begun and continues through Nov. 27. Milestone 3 of the Transit Corridor Alternatives Analysis by the Santa Cruz […]

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Digest: Caltrain to consider schedule changes to better suit essential workers, transit-dependent

Caltrain logo

Friday morning rail news: Caltrain to consider new schedule aimed toward essential workers, transit dependent Caltrain’s board of directors will consider schedule changes intended to improve service for essential workers and transit-dependent riders who rely on the San Francisco Bay Area commuter. The proposed Base Service Plan schedule to be reveiwed at the board’s Nov. […]

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Digest: California Coastal Commission asks transit agency to withdraw petition to STB

People jumping off rail linee as train approaches

Monday morning rail news: Coastal Commission asks North County Transit District to withdraw STB petition on maintenance, fence projects The California Coastal Commission has asked the North County Transit District to withdraw its petition to the Surface Transportation Board regarding maintenance and safety-fence projects, saying it believes the public’s interest is best suited by collaboration […]

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Remembering Pacific Electric Railway locomotives

A steeple cab electric freight motor surrounded by other freight equipment.

  All this month, October 2020, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the legacy and heritage of the Pacific Electric Railway. This week, we’re featuring the motley mix of electric, diesel-electric, diesel-mechanical, and steam locomotives that all operated on the Pacific Electric in Southern California. If you like this photo gallery, you might also like a […]

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