Las Vegas commission to consider light rail plan NEWSWIRE

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LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The city’s first light rail line is one of the options under consideration today when the Las Vegas area’s transit agency meets to consider its preferred option for an 8.7-mile transit corridor. The Maryland Parkway corridor would begin near the Las Vegas airport and run through downtown to the Las Vegas […]

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MTA touts continued improvement for New York subways NEWSWIRE

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NEW YORK — Statistic show continued improvement for New York City’s beleaguered subway system, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said at a Wednesday press conference. MTA Chairman and CEO Patrick Foye, Managing Director Veronique Hakim, and NYC Transit President Andy Byford highlighted statistics showing better on-time performance and increased customer satisfaction. These latest performance results are […]

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San Jose to close light rail branch NEWSWIRE

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose’s transit agency, the Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority, is proposing the closure of a little-used light rail line as part of a series of budget cuts. The 2-mile Ohlone/Chynoweth-Almaden branch would be replaced by bus service under the authority’s New Transit Service Plan, which will go before the authority […]

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Virgin Trains bid for UK West Coast service disqualified NEWSWIRE

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A Virgin Trains Pendolino train on the West Coast route in Oxenholme in northern England in July 2018. The trainsets are owned by a leasing business, not by Virgin, and will be used by whoever takes over West Coast operations. Keith Fender LONDON — Days after unveiling new the rebranded Virgin MiamiCentral station as part […]

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FTA announces $1.36 billion in grant funding NEWSWIRE

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WASHINGTON — Sixteen new and existing transit projects will receive a total of $1.36 billion in funding as part of the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grants announced Tuesday. In all, 22 projects have received approximately $5.06 billion in funding under the grant program since Jan. 20, 2017. Ten of those are rail projects, with […]

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Glenview, Ill., budgets more money to fight expansion of Hiawatha service

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GLENVIEW, Ill. — The Glenview Village Board has voted to budget another $36,000 for its fight against efforts to increase Amtrak Hiawatha service between Chicago and Milwaukee, running the community’s total tab for the effort to more than $541,000. The Chicago Tribune reports that of the newly budgeted funds, $30,000 will go to a state […]

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Low-speed collision, derailment of MBTA trains leads to cancellation of morning service NEWSWIRE

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BOSTON — Service on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Fairmount line for the morning commute today (Wednesday, April 10) has been cancelled as the result of a Tuesday night collision and derailment of two MBTA trains near Boston’s South Station. No injuries were reported when a Fairmount Line train collided with an out-of-service train at […]

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Tuscaloosa, Ala., scraps plan for new Amtrak station NEWSWIRE

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Tuscaloosa has abandoned efforts to place a new Amtrak station in the city’s Alberta area, citing a breakdown in negotiations with Norfolk Southern over the railroad’s safety concerns. “In the final analysis, Norfolk Southern had concerns regarding sight distance at that site,” Mayor Walt Maddox told the Tuscaloosa News. “This made the […]

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With funding loss imminent, Amtrak ends ticket sales for ‘Hoosier State’ NEWSWIRE

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CHICAGO — Amtrak has announced it will no longer sell tickets for the Hoosier State after June 30 as the train nears cancellation as a result of loss of funding from the state of Indiana. The state currently provides $3 million in funding for the four-day-a-week train, while five local governments provide another $500,000. But […]

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Ask Trains: Will Precision Scheduled Railroading affect Amtrak timekeeping?

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Siemens Charger SC-44 No. 4632 leads Amtrak train 391, the southbound Saluki from Chicago to Carbondale, Ill., on the Canadian National Centrailia Subdivision, after passing the coaling towers that were built for the then Illinois Central Railroad in 1949. 18302-27 Jim Pearson Question: What effect, if any, will the implementation of Precision Scheduled Railroading by […]

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Sound Transit seeking comments on Tacoma light rail expansion NEWSWIRE

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Sound Transit is seeking public comment on its plans to expand Tacoma’s light rail system to Sea-Tac Airport. TRAINS: David Lassen TACOMA, Wash. — Sound Transit has released potential routes and begun the public-comment period for its planned for its Tacoma Dome Link Extension, which will connect Tacoma’s light rail to Sea-Tac Airport and the […]

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Virgin Trains gets OK for more bond sales NEWSWIRE

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As the rebranding of Brightline to Virgin Trains USA begins in earnest, the company has received approval for more bond sales to finance its expansion. Bob Johnston Retired Brightline executive Gene Skoropowski, who has long worked to bring improved rail service to Florida, found last week’s events to be “exciting.” Bob Johnston ORLANDO — Virgin […]

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