WASHINGTON — Amtrak and Canadian National Railway have asked the Surface Transportation Board to extend the deadline for filings in their long-running dispute over an operating agreement, telling the board they are “actively engaged in discussions aimed at settling this complex and long-standing case.” In a joint filing on Friday, Sept. 26, the two sides […]
Tag: Passenger/Transit
NTSB to investigate SEPTA trolley incident that injured 11
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate an incident on Thursday, Sept. 25, that injured all 11 people aboard a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority trolley in Springfield, Pa. The NTSB announcement says the incident involving a trolley on the Media-Sharon Hill line “resulted in the pantograph assembly separating from the trolley and penetrating […]
Rapido HO Southern Pacific ¾ dome lounge
Rapido HO Southern Pacific ¾ dome lounge Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $159.95 Manufacturer: Rapido Trains, 382 High St, Buffalo, NY 14204; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com Rapido HO Southern Pacific ¾ dome lounge features: Designed from original blueprints and field measurements Flicker-free, track-powered interior lighting Free-rolling trucks Lighting in dome roof Metal magnetic knuckle couplers Multi-color interior decoration […]
Opening of additional Montreal light rail lines faces more delays
MONTREAL — The firm building Montreal’s Réseau express métropolitain light rail system has announced additional delays in opening more of the system. CDPQ Infra said in a Thursday (Sept. 25) press release that the RM’s Deux-Montagnes branch will open sometime in November, while the Anse-à-l’Orme branch will not open until spring 2026. A year ago, […]
Metra to begin testing Cafe Car prototype
CHICAGO — Metra will be putting its prototype Café Car into service this fall, rotating it across most of its busiest lines and stations and asking riders to take a survey about whether they like the concept and about what amenities and features they would like to see. The car will make its debut in […]
Amtrak board full with Gleason confirmation: Analysis
WASHINGTON — The federal government may be headed for a shutdown if 60 U.S. Senators can’t agree on a path forward by the end of the month, but late last week the upper chamber’s lawmakers did vote to confirm Pennsylvania Republican Robert Gleason to a 5-year term on Amtrak’s board of directors [“Senate confirms Robert […]
Metro-North to launch ‘super express’ trains on Hudson Line
NEW YORK — Metro-North Railroad will launch “super express” trains next month between Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Grand Central Terminal. The trains will cut travel time to less than 90 minutes each way, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said today. The first “super-express” trains will run on Monday, Oct. 6. “Delivering better, faster Metro-North service to Hudson […]
BLET and Metra reach tentative agreement
CHICAGO — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has reached a tentative agreement with Metra that would provide 93 BLET members with 3.5% general wage increases, the union said today. The agreement covers BLET members employed by Metra who operate on the Metra-UP Lines and are represented by the Union Pacific Northern Region General […]
Cascades round-trips return Monday after locomotive unavailability
SEATTLE—Though most state-supported and long distance trains across Amtrak’s far-flung network have been operating with minimal delays, a number of significant disruptions occurred over the weekend which continue to underscore the shortage of sufficient serviceable equipment Pacific Northwest cancellations Problems for Amtrak’s Cascades began Friday afternoon, Sept. 19, when Portland, Ore., to Vancouver, B.C. train […]
FRA boosts funding for National Railroad Partnership Program
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration today issued a $5 billion-plus Notice of Funding Opportunity for the National Railroad Partnership Program, which aims to enhance safety on intercity passenger routes. The program now includes $2.4 billion that the FRA clawed back from the California High-Speed Rail Project. “The funding will help advance FRA’s top priority […]
Senate confirms nomination of Robert Gleason to Amtrak board
WASHINGTON — Robert Gleason, the White House nominee to serve on Amtrak’s board of directors, was among the nominees the U.S. Senate confirmed en masse last week. The Senate approved 48 Trump administration nominees under a simple majority vote on Thursday. Republicans adopted the process last week to speed the confirmation of nominees amid Democratic […]
East Troy Industrial Park, Ep. 23 | Smoothing Terrain & Adding a Grade Crossing
In this episode covering the HO scale (1:87.1) East Troy Industrial Park project layout, the construction crew dives into adding scenery and details. They first demonstrate techniques for shaping and smoothing scenes representative of rolling Wisconsin terrain. And then you’ll see the process for adding a grade crossing where the road meets the rails. Be sure […]
