BOSTON — Conductors and assistant conductors have ratified a new five-year agreement with the contract operators of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter trains. Some 92% of members of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division, or 359 out of 387 who cast ballots, voted in favor of the agreement with […]
WASHINGTON — The Senate Commerce Committee has scheduled a hearing on nominees for Federal Railroad Administration administrator and the last remaining open seat on Amtrak’s board of directors. The hearing for FRA nominee David Fink, Amtrak nominee Robert Gleason, and two other officials — David Fogael, assistant secretary of commerce, and Pierre Gentin, general counsel […]
WASHINGTON — Details have yet to emerge regarding how much money the Trump Administration and Congress might be willing to appropriate for Amtrak in Fiscal 2026, beginning on Oct. 1, 2025. Amtrak is not mentioned in the $163 billion of “non-defense discretionary spending” budget cuts in the spending plan released today (May 2, 2025) — […]
Despite mounting uncertainty over tariffs, trade policy, and the economy, most major railroads held firm on their 2025 outlooks — contrasting with a wave of guidance cuts across other industries. Among the five publicly traded Class I railroads, Canadian National, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific kept their guidance intact, while Canadian Pacific Kansas City and […]
WASHINGTON — Short line holding company Regional Rail is acquiring the Minnesota Commercial Railway, which operates 86 miles of trackage around the Twin Cities. “The transaction will promote Regional Rail’s strategic and growth objectives, and help sustain MNNR’s efficiency, financial strength, and ability to meet the needs of shippers,” Regional Rail said in a regulatory […]
CORINTH, N.Y. — The Saratoga Corinth & Hudson Railway, the heritage railway located on the former Delaware & Hudson Adirondack Branch, has added a third Alco RS3 with the arrival this week of No. 4085, a former D&H diesel long stored in Port Jervis, N.Y. The Delaware & Hudson Railway Historical Society announced the acquisition […]
EL PASO, Texas — Fort Bliss, the 1,700-square-mile Army post in Texas and New Mexico, is undergoing an expansion of its rail capacity. The El Paso Times reports that groundbreaking was held April 22 for construction of 4.3 additional miles of track at its rail yard, built to accommodate 565 railcars in 72 hours — […]
STOCKTON, Calif. — Stacey Mortensen, executive director of the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission, will step down from her position on Aug. 31 after 27 years, the commission has announced. The commission oversees the Altamont Corridor Express commuter rail operation and manages the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority, which oversees Amtrak’s San Joaquins service. “I […]
NEW YORK — Subway crews and New York City Transit need to better communicate with passengers to address instances of risky “self-evacuation” by passengers during delays, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Inspector General Daniel Cort said in a report issued on Thursday (May 1, 2025). An investigation by the Office of the Inspector General found 46 […]
WASHINGTON — A “lack of awareness” by the operator of maintenance equipment, incomplete communication regarding the movement of that machine, and its non-operational change-of-direction alarm have been cited as the probable cause and contributing factors in the death of a CSX maintenance-of-way foreman in a February 2024 incident in North Carolina. The National Transportation Safety […]
FIELD, British Columbia — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada will investigate the derailment of a CPKC train early this morning near Field, the agency has announced. The TSB said it will send a team of investigators to gather information and assess the occurrence, which occurred about 4:30 a.m. today (May 1, 2025) about 12 […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National reported stronger first-quarter earnings today despite the impact of harsh winter weather across its system, which crimped train length and the railway’s ability to meet demand for intermodal and merchandise service. “We are very pleased today to be reporting strong first-quarter results,” CEO Tracy Robinson said on the railway’s earnings call, […]
