Rail regulation bill advances in Pennsylvania legislature

The pennsylvania state seal

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A bill including a limit on freight train lengths and a prohibition on blocking grade crossings for more than five minutes has advanced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. HB 1191, sponsored by state Rep. Robert Matzie (D-Beaver, Pa.) passed the Consumer Protection, Technology, and Utilities Committee of the House by a 23-3 […]

Read More…

Amtrak Inspector General assesses company work on Hudson Tunnel Project

Construction work in Hudson Yards area of Manhattan

WASHINGTON — Improvement of communications with project partners and within the company could help Amtrak reduce risks in its role in the $16 billion Hudson Tunnel Project, as could better management of project documents, the Amtrak Office of Inspector General says in a report issued today (Dec. 17). The report did find that the company […]

Read More…

MTA, two private firms unite to rebuild train shed at Grand Central Terminal

NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, financial company JPMorgan Chase, and real estate investment firm Vornado have announced public-private partnerships to rebuild the train shed at Grand Central Terminal, which is deteriorating from decades of water, chemical, and salt damage. That deterioration has damaged the concrete and steel beams that hold up Park Avenue […]

Read More…

Judge’s ruling allows NS to proceed with crew-change facility in New York village

Map of Norfolk Southern and CSX routes in New England

VOORHEESVILLE, N.Y. — A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction allowing Norfolk Southern to begin work on a new crew-change facility in the village of Voorheesville, which sought to block the project. The Albany Times-Union reports U.S. District Court Judge Brenda K. Sannes of the Northern District of New York approved the preliminary injunction […]

Read More…

Atlas O announces two patriotic SD40-2 locomotives

new, white, and blue model locomotive

Atlas Model Railroad Co., Inc., 378 Florence Ave., Hillside, NJ 07205, has announced two patriotic-themed SD40-2 diesel locomotives as part of the Premier line. The Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway No. 1776 features red/white/blue graphics (30138695). The Reading & Northern No. 1776 is based on a paint scheme announced on Veterans Day 2025 to commemorate […]

Read More…

Amtrak, LIRR update work on East River Tunnel project

Interior of railroad tunnel

NEW YORK — Amtrak and Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials say the East River tunnel rehabilitation project is on schedule after six months, with repairs on the first of two tunnels to be completed by July. The operators addressed progress on the tunnel project with local media on Wednesday (Dec. 10), with Laura Mason, Amtrak executive […]

Read More…

BLET, New York, Susquehanna & Western reach tentative contract agreement

New York, Susquehanna & Western GP40 No. 3040 switches an industry in Utica, N.Y. Bill Stephens

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has reached a tentative agreement with the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway on a new contract, the union has announced. Terms were not disclosed. The union said the agreement includes wage increases and work rule improvements, and would see union members covered by the […]

Read More…

C&NW No. 1385 successfully test fired

Steam locomotive surrounded by steam.

NORTH FREEDOM, Wis. — The Mid-Continent Railway Museum, after nearly 30 years of work, has completed a successful test firing of former Chicago & North Western R1 4-6-0 No. 1385. The locomotive now moves into the final phases of its restoration, with plans to have No. 1385 operational by summer 2026. The test was originally […]

Read More…

Low visibility left operator no chance to avoid hitting tree, says NTSB report on NJ Transit light rail fatality

Aerial view of site of NJ Transit light rail fatality, with inset photo of train with smashed windshield

WASHINGTON — Predawn low-light conditions made it impossible for the operator to stop in time to avoid hitting a downed tree, the National Transportation Safety Board says in its final report on the Oct. 14, 2024, collision that killed the operator of an NJ Transit River Line light rail train. The train’s operator was later […]

Read More…

British Columbia museum receives grant for shop restoration

Several cabooses in a museum setting. British Columbia museum receives grant for shop restoration.

SQUAMISH, British Columbia — The Railway Museum of British Columbia has received a $50,000 Heritage Legacy Fund grant from Heritage BC to assist with work on its car shop. The museum matched the grant, netting $100,000 for the project. The grant funds the reconstruction of the shop’s five rail doors. Each 14- by 22-foot door […]

Read More…

SEPTA, TWU reach agreement, averting transit strike

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority logo

PHILADELPHIA — SEPTA and the Transport Workers Union have reached a tentative agreement on a two-year contract, averting a strike the union had said was imminent. “I am very pleased that we were able to settle without a strike,” TWU Local 234 President Will Vera said in a statement today (Dec. 8). “… Patience was […]

Read More…

Union says strike against SEPTA is ‘imminent’

Logo of Transport Workers Union of America

PHILADELPHIA — A strike by the union representing Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority rail transit and bus operators is imminent, the leader of that union said on Friday. The Transport Workers Union of America said in a press release that SEPTA has refused to negotiate on quality-of-life issues for members of TWU Local 234, and that […]

Read More…