After first-month issues, MBTA extends free weekend South Coast Rail trips

Commuter train at station

BOSTON — After a bumpy first month include delays, cancellations, and bus substitutions, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has announced it will extend its introductory free weekend travel offer on the South Coast Rail extension through May. The 37-mile addition to the MBTA’s commuter rail launched March 24, adding six new stations and bringing rail […]

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NJ Transit withdraws most recent contract offer to BLET

NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit has rescinded its most recent offer to members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, a step backward in the long-running dispute between the agency and union, Northjersey.com reports. A potential strike or lockout of engineers, who have been working without a contract since 2019, could come as soon […]

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New Hampshire roundhouse group receives Webb preservation award

Wooden four-stall roundhouse with weathered green doors

ANDOVER, Mass. — New Hampshire’s Bartlett Roundhouse Preservation Society is the recipient of this year’s H. Albert Webb Memorial Railroad Preservation Award, the Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts have announced. The Enthusiasts, who administer the grant created by member Leigh Webb, also have awarded $65,000 to 19 projects as part of their 2025 Railroad Preservation Grants […]

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NTSB report on NS rear-end collision urges FRA to finish research on patching hole in PTC

WASHINGTON — The probable cause of a rear-end collision between two Norfolk Southern freight trains near Easton, Pa., last year — an incident that involved three trains in all — was the engineer’s failure to follow restricted speed requirements, the National Transportation Safety Board said today (April 23, 2025). But the lack of positive train […]

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FRA, Amtrak revise plans for rehabilitation of Dock Bridge

Aerial view of steel railroad lift bridge

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak will cut some elements from a planned rehabilitation of the Northeast Corridor’s Dock Bridge over the Passaic River in New Jersey, reducing the cost of the project by $140 million. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said in a press release that “refocusing” the project “will fast-track a […]

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Transportation secretary threatens to block New York highway projects unless congestion pricing ends

Street sign for New York congestion pricing zone

WASHINGTON — In the newest chapter of the ongoing battle between the Trump administration and state of New York over congestion pricing, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the federal government could block federal approval for highway projects if the Metropolitan Transportation Authority does not end the tolling program. In a letter today to New […]

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3-D printed fishbelly hopper cars

close up of end of maroon model hopper car

I model the Western Maryland Ry. (WM) from the 1920s to before the start of World War II. Appropriate commercial models of coal hoppers for my modeling era are limited in large scale. I was using LGB two-bay and Bachmann three-bay hoppers as stand-ins, but I wanted accurate, period-specific coal hoppers for my rolling stock […]

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Moving ‘Silver Splendor’ to Conway Scenic

Glass-domed silver passenger rail car named Rhonda Lee in rocky hillside

  I have a personal connection with a Budd-built Vista-Dome. In November 2018, my old friend and President and co-owner of New Hampshire’s Conway Scenic Railroad, Dave Swirk, called me, “Would you like to join me on a big adventure?” Before I realized what I was getting into, I said “Yes.” The railroad had just […]

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Former Keolis official sentenced in $8.5 million fraud case

U.S. Department of Justice seal

BOSTON — A former official at Keolis Commuter Services, contract operator of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter trains, has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for defrauding Keolis of more than $8.5 million and the Internal Revenue Service of more than $2.6 million. John P. Pigsley, 59, was sentenced on Thursday, April […]

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FRA, Amtrak to take over Penn Station remodeling, transportation secretary says

Rendering of open interior area of passenger station

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak will take over the long-discussed remodeling of New York’s Penn Station, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced today (April 17, 2025), saying the move came at the direction of President Donald Trump. The action removes the Metropolitan Transportation Authority from its lead role in the project. It was […]

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Florida man indicted for possession of ‘small arsenal’ of weapons on Amtrak train

Aerial view of railroad station

TRENTON, N.J. — A Florida man has been indicted in New Jersey after transporting a “small arsenal” of illegal weapons — including an allegedly “booby-trapped” rifle that fired during his arrest — through stations and onto an Amtrak train. Jeffrey O. Kennerk, 34, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was arrested at the Trenton Transit Center. He […]

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