THOMASTON, Conn. — Three former Santa Fe Hi-Level cars are in the consist of the Railroad Museum of New England’s Naugatuck Railroad’s Santa Express train. Built by Budd for Santa Fe’s Chicago-Los Angeles El Capitan in the 1950s, the three later were acquired by Amtrak. Naugatuck’s two parlors served as “Pacific Parlour” cars on Amtrak’s […]
In this episode of The Roundhouse, Classic Trains editor Brian Schmidt sits down with David Popp to discuss his unique path into the railroad hobby. David shares how he started as a model railroader but developed a passion for railfanning after discovering 1:1 scale trains routing near his childhood home. This dual interest led him to incorporate prototype […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak could face problems in operating its NextGen Acela and Airo trainsets because some new maintenance facilities will not be completed in time, the Amtrak Office of Inspector General says in a new report issued today (Dec. 22). According to the report, if current schedules for those facilities hold, Amtrak will only be […]
Rail transit had quite a year in the U.S. … and not in a particularly good way. Financial, equipment, and labor issues all played a part in making at a stressful year for transit operators. The combination of reduced ridership with the post-pandemic shift to more work-at-home opportunities, along with political divisions over funding, make […]
DENVER — With Gov. Jared Polis on hand for the departure, Amtrak’s Winter Park Express launched its 2025-26 season on Friday, Dec. 19. It was the first of 57 scheduled trips for the ski train through March 29. The train is operating three days a week for its first three weekends — Dec. 19-21, Dec. […]
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has vetoed a bill that would have required two-person crews on New York City subway trains. Assembly Bill 4873, sponsored by state Rep. Monique Chandler-Waterman (D-Brooklyn), would mandate that all Metropolitan Transportation Authority trains of two or more cars have a conductor as well as an operator. […]
WASHINGTON — The Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger application filed with the Surface Transportation Board on Friday attempts to explain away adverse effects on passenger trains by vague promises of future “targeted infrastructure enhancements,” but generally doesn’t outline what those might be. In one case, a combined UP-NS proposes adding nine daily freights to a single-track […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific misused confidential materials from ongoing negotiations in its most recent Surface Transportation Board filing on the ongoing UP-Metra dispute, Metra claims in a new regulatory filing. Metra’s Dec. 18 filing is the latest action in the dispute over terms of Metra commuter operations on three Chicago-area routes. It is in response […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will spend about $253 million to overhaul 40 commuter-rail diesel locomotives following approval of the expense Thursday, Dec. 18, by the agency’s board. The overhaul will cover HSP46 locomotives built by Motive Power Inc. of Boise, Idaho, in three orders placed between 2010 and 2013. The first of […]
BOSTON — Three consortia have been shortlisted as the most qualified to submit proposals to operate the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail system, the MBTA announced today. Current contract operator Keolis, whose contract expires on June 30, 2027, is part of one of the three teams selected, based on a Request for Qualifications issued […]
NEW YORK — Platform barriers have now been installed at 115 subway stations, and installation of brighter LED lighting in all 472 stations is to be completed by the end of the year, New York City and state officials said at a press conference today addressing progress in reducing subway crime. At the event, featuring […]
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 […]
