A screen image capture from a Metra video of natural gas-fired switch heaters. Media outlets covering the late January freeze in the Midwest have reported that Chicago’s Metra sets its tracks on fire. METRA CHICAGO — From ABC to the British Broadcasting Corp. with Stephen Colbert in between, the national and international media is obsessed […]
CHICAGO – The derailment of a Canadian National freight train in south suburban Harvey that knocked down adjacent catenary supports on parallel Metra Electric tracks continues to affect Windy City passenger operations, even as temperatures begin to climb. For the third consecutive day, all Metra Electric and South Shore Line trains have been cancelled. The […]
Passengers de-train from the New River Train as it makes its second station stop in Hinton, W.Va., in October 2015. Chase Gunnoe WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has sent a letter to Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson expressing concern over Amtrak’s policies and restrictions that are creating financial hardship for the Collis P. Huntington […]
‘American Orient Express’ observation car ‘New York’ at Denver in June 1996. Ten years later, the train would be rebranded as GrandLuxe Express. Chip Sherman Q What happened to the American Orient Express? It appeared on several railroad videos from the 1990s. – Frank Klos, San Diego, Calif. A The genesis of the American Orient […]
A Chicago-bound Amtrak Hiawatha passes the station at Deerfield, Ill., on Dec. 24, 2016. Almost all Amtrak corridor service in and out of Chicago will resume Friday after cancellations on Wednesday and Thursday. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — With temperatures expected to bottom out at minus-23 degrees and wind chills in the minus-50 degree range […]
A South Shore commuter train approaches the Hegewisch station in South Chicago on a frigid March 16, 2017. South Shore and Metra Electric service has been stopped by downed wires. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — Downed power lines have halted service for South Shore and Metra Electric District routes through Friday, part of the continuing […]
A Metra Rock Island train approaches the 95th Street station on the Beverly Branch on Jan. 2, 2018, a day when temperatures hovered near zero. Even more extreme weather will lead to modified Metra schedules on Wednesday. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — Metra has announced modified schedules for its operations on Wednesday, Jan. 30, reflecting […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is proposing 2019 fare changes that amount to a 6.3 percent increase and would take effect July 1. If approved, the changes would be the first since 2016 and the fourth since 2012. By state law the agency is allowed to increase fares no more than 7 percent […]
An MBTA PCC stops in Milton, Mass., in December 2008. Justin Franz BOSTON – The end of the line appears to be in sight for Boston’s historic streetcars. Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority officials revealed this week that they want to replace the decades-old Presidents’ Conference Committee streetcars in service on the Mattapan-Ashmont High Speed Line […]
Cameramen crowd the platform as Monday’s Amtrak inspection special arrives at the Metropark station in New Jersey. Ralph Spielman Amtrak inspection car American View provided New Jersey officials with a look at infrastructure issues between New Jersey and New York’s Penn Station. Ralph Spielman Stephen Gardner of Amtrak explains details of the storm-damaged North River […]
Replacing Southwest Chief service over Raton Pass with a bus bridge would have a high price for communities along the route, according to a new report. Bob Johnston WASHINGTON — A bus bridge replacing the Southwest Chief between Albuquerque, N.M., and Dodge City, Kan., would lead to annual economic losses of more than $116 million […]
CHICAGO — Today’s Empire Builder departures from Chicago and Seattle have been cancelled, reflecting weather concerns across the Amtrak train’s northern route. Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the cancellations were a mutual decision by Amtrak and BNSF Railway, which hosts the train for the majority of its route. Amtrak had previously modified schedules for many […]
