Steam on London’s Underground in central London likely for last time in June NEWSWIRE

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Steam on the Underground in 2013 – Metropolitan Railway No. 1 next to a brand new Underground train at Moorgate station. Keith Fender LONDON — Transit agency Transport for London has announced plans to commemorate 150 years of the city’s District Line subway route by running steam hauled trains on part of the system June […]

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Swiss narrow gauge railway adventure on the Albula Pass

A red-painted passenger train passes through green meadows on the slopes of a mountain.

Join Trains Digital Editor Steve Sweeney for a Swiss narrow gauge mountain railroad adventure on the Albula Pass. Watch as scheduled passenger and freight trains operate on the Rhaetian Railway’s extensive meter gauge line over the Alps between Preda and Bergun, Switzerland. Information on how to visit Switzerland with Trains in 2019 is available online. […]

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Swiss narrow gauge railway adventure on the Albula Pass

A red-painted passenger train passes through green meadows on the slopes of a mountain.

Join Trains Digital Editor Steve Sweeney for a Swiss narrow gauge mountain railroad adventure on the Albula Pass. Watch as scheduled passenger and freight trains operate on the Rhaetian Railway’s extensive meter gauge line over the Alps between Preda and Bergun, Switzerland. Information on how to visit Switzerland with Trains in 2019 is available online. […]

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CRRC interest in Washington Metro contract raises cybersecurity concerns NEWSWIRE

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WASHINGTON — China’s state-owned rail equipment manufacturer is showing interest in building new rail cars for the Washington Metro system, the Washington Post reports, despite concerns expressed in Congress about cybersecurity and economic issues of such a plan. CRRC sent 11 employees to a January event for companies interested in bidding on the system’s 8000-series […]

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Mexico teachers’ protests to take toll on Kansas City Southern earnings NEWSWIRE

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Patrick Ottensmeyer, Kansas City Southern CEO TRAINS: David Lassen MIAMI — The teachers’ strike and related protests in Mexico — which blocked Kansas City Southern’s key route between Mexico City and the Port of Lazaro Cardenas for nearly a month — will ding the railroad’s earnings per share by 5 cents in the first quarter. […]

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Mexican teachers end strike blocking train traffic to port NEWSWIRE

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern de Mexico reports it has restored service into the port of Lázaro Cárdenas after striking teachers blocked trains. Claiming they were owed pay, benefits, and bonuses, teachers in the state of Michoacán, west of Mexico City in mid-January began blockading tracks. They shut down at least 250 trains […]

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Japanese railroad, manufacturers working on 250-mph bullet train NEWSWIRE

TOKYO — One Japanese railroad seeks to push the latest high speed train technology to nearly 250 mph with a new passenger trainset in development. The English-language version of Kyodo News reports on a 10-car “next-generation Shinkansen” train with a designed top speed of about 224 mph. The news site reports that the East Japan […]

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Piko SmartControl Light HO ICE 3 train set

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PIKO SmartControl Light HO ICE 3 train set Zooming by in a flash of red and pale gray, Deutsche Bahn (DB) Intercity-Express (ICE) trains are 21st century icons of high-speed rail travel in Germany and its surrounding countries. PIKO has upgraded its HO scale ICE 3 passenger train set to include the firm’s new SmartControl […]

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European Union blocks Siemens-Alstom deal NEWSWIRE

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Siemens Velaro ICE (foreground) and Alstom TGV trainsets await action at Paris Est station. A merger of the two companies has been stopped by European regulators. Keith Fender BRUSSELS — The European Union’s central administration, the EU Commission, has announced it will not permit the proposed Siemens-Alstom merger, which originally had been targeted to be complete […]

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Former Conrail locomotives move to third acts in Estonia, Ukraine NEWSWIRE

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BEFORE EVR Cargo No. 1566 at the Tapa shops in June 2011. It is a former Conrail C30-7A No. 6577. Keith Fender Locomotive No. 1564 rebuilt as Operail C30-M (Ex-Conrail No. 6565) seen at the Tapa shops in October 2018. Operail TALLIN, Estonia — Former Conrail GE C30-7A locomotives are being given a radical rebuild […]

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Trains Tube: In a Swiss Tunnel 2018

Orange-clad workers in a darkened rail tunnel.

Join Trains on a visit to a track work project in a Swiss tunnel. Rhomberg Sersa and the Rhaetian Railway invited Trains to see how they re-build meter-gauge track in often grueling conditions in September 2018. See Steve Sweeney’s full story in the March 2019 issue of Trains, THE magazine of railroading! […]

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Alstom, Siemens make late concessions in effort to win merger approval NEWSWIRE

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PARIS — Alstom and Siemens have offered concessions to European regulators examining their proposed merger, Reuters reports, but there is no guarantee the move will be enough to satisfy antitrust concerns. Alstom confirmed in a statement on Monday that it had offered concessions, but said, “There is, however, still no certainty that the content of […]

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