News Wire Recommended Reading: High speed rail, transit safety

Brightline train

Here’s your latest installment of News Wire Recommended Reading, articles available online which Trains readers may find of interest: — The New York Times ran a pair of articles on high-speed rail earlier this month, the first on the various projects under consideration in the U.S. (which quotes, among others, Trains correspondent Bob Johnston), and […]

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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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Oregon transit agency Tri-Met warns of potential service cuts

White light rail train at station

PORTLAND, Ore. — Add the Portland area’s Tri-Met to the list of transit agencies warning of dire consequences without an increase in funding. The agency is warning that it could face a 15% cut in service beginning in 2027, with additional 5% cuts every two years after that, unless its funding is boosted. The agency […]

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German passenger rail company finds (Easter) bunny on board

Brown and white rabbit on tabletop

WÜRZBURG, Germany — If you’re missing your Easter Bunny, you apparently left it on a train in Germany. Passenger rail operator Arverio reported a rabbit was found in a transport box on Thursday at the end of its morning trip from Treuchtligen to Würzberg. “It was not possible to determine who had brought it onto […]

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Norm Charbonneau’s Northbrook Layout in O scale

Norm Charbonneau’s Northbrook Layout in O scale | Come along with Model Railroader Editor Eric White as he and Trains.com Video captures Norm Charbonneau’s 29 x 36-foot O scale (3-rail) basement layout, depicting steam-diesel transition era, Pennsy-inspired railroading action. Catch a sneak peek months before crowds arrive to visit the display during the 2025 NMRA National […]

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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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Two reports suggest actions to address risks of trains striking vehicles and pedestrians

Pedestrians stopped on sidewalk as train passes close by

WASHINGTON— Amtrak’s independent Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Government Accountability Office have issued separate reports within the last week that address courses of action Amtrak, state agencies, and the Federal Highway Administration might take to reduce injuries and deaths associated with train strikes of vehicles and pedestrians. The Amtrak Inspector General’s 28-page report, […]

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Fight over freight delays could hit Amtrak’s wallet: Analysis

Passenger train passes freight

Ride Amtrak outside of the Northeast Corridor and there’s a good chance you’ll arrive late because freight traffic delayed your train — despite the law that gives passenger trains preference. Amtrak is challenging host railroads Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern with a pair of high-profile on-time performance cases that aim to put teeth into the […]

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The Rhätische Bahn for railfans

Photo from onboard of train crossing stone viaduct

Note: General travel information on visiting the Rhätishe Bahn is available here. North American railfans can only dream of their interests receiving the kind of respect from a major railroad that is displayed by the Rhätische Bahn, the meter-gauge, electrified railway in the Swiss canton of Graubünden we are featuring in the June and July […]

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