Metra passenger died falling or jumping from train, according to coroner

Commuter train arrives at station with station sign in foreground

LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. — A man found dead along Metra’s Milwaukee North line last week apparently died when he fell off or tried to step off of a moving train, according to the Lake County, Ill., coroner’s office. The body of 30-year-old Allen Chiquini was found the evening of Friday, Jan. 2, near Winchester Drive and […]

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UP-NS merger likely to be focus of MARS winter meeting

Man at podium

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — CEOs with strongly opposing views of the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger will be the keynote speakers at the annual winter meeting of the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers, a key annual gathering of railroad officials and customers where discussion of the merger is likely to be the leading topic. The event at […]

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Nolan joins Anacostia as chief legal officer

Head shot of smiling woman

CHICAGO — Anacostia Rail Holdings has appointed Aimee Nolan as chief legal officer, the company announced today (Jan. 7). Nolan will oversee legal, compliance, governance, and risk functions. She most recently was general counsel at Zoro Tools Inc., a subsidiary of W.W. Grainger, and had previously spent 25 years at W.W. Grainger, most recently as […]

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Spaces to Places VIII | Modeling a river, Part 1

Host Gerry Leone returns to the upper deck of his HO scale Bona Vista layout to tackle a “flat” problem. Watch as Gerry expands a tiny drainage creek into a wider, deeper river to add much-needed vertical relief. You’ll see him cut through sub-roadbed, repurpose deck girder bridges from a previous layout, and secure a new river […]

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Minnesota’s Northstar commuter rail service makes last run

Blue, yellow, red, and white locomotive leads train of bilevel commuter cars with city skyline in background

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota’s Northstar commuter rail line, launched in 2009 with service between Minneapolis and Big Lake, Minn., made its final run Sunday (Jan. 4), with a special-event round trip to the Minnesota Vikings’ season-ending home game against Green Bay. The Metro Transit service was ultimately done in by low ridership along a shorter route […]

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Weather leads to some Amtrak issues during holiday period

passenger train on track just barely above water

CHICAGO — Despite challenging weather conditions on both coasts and in the upper Great Lakes region, Amtrak trains generally reached their destinations unscathed during the holiday travel period. “Mechanical assessments,” however, did continue to impact service throughout the network during the period ending today (Sunday, Jan. 4). Starlight and Builder disruptions Amtrak’s long-distance operations generally […]

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South Shore stages dynamic tests on new Monon Corridor

HAMMOND, Ind. — Sometime in early 2026, passengers will be able to ride the Northern Indiana Commuter Transit District’s West Lake Extension, now designated by NICTD as the South Shore Line’s Monon Corridor. The 8-mile electrified, single-track route has been constructed mostly on former rail right-of-way that hosted trains of the Monon and later CSX. […]

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News photo: Genesee & Wyoming adds to semiquincentennial locomotive fleet

Blue locomotive with red and white trim at night

NORWOOD, Ohio — Genesee & Wyoming has marked the arrival of the semiquincentennial year of U.S. independence with the latest addition to its growing fleet of 250th anniversary locomotives. Indiana & Ohio Railway C44-9W No. 4445 joins earlier commemorative locomotives at the Arizona Eastern [see “News photo: Genesee & Wyoming’s latest …,” Trains.com], as well […]

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Eric Lalonde’s UP Geneva Subdivision in HO scale

Tour the HO scale Union Pacific Geneva Subdivision, Eric Lalonde’s impressive 17 x 25-foot multi-deck modern layout depicting the former Chicago & North Western line between West Chicago and Clinton, Iowa. The triple-deck design features a 210-foot mainline connected by a custom 5 x 5-foot helix. The wall-mounted benchwork supports Atlas code 83 and 100 […]

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UP says it did not misuse confidential material in Metra filing

Two commuter trains side by side at suburban station

WASHINGTON — Union Pacific is disputing Metra’s claim that it “misused confidential communications” in a recent Surface Transportation Board filing in the ongoing fight over the commuter operator’s access to UP’s lines. In a Dec. 24 filing posted to the STB website today (Dec. 29), UP says the material it cited was permissible because it […]

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