First segment of Canadian high-speed rail to be built between Montreal, Ottawa (updated)

Dark green high speed train in snowy landscape

GATINEAU, Quebec — The first segment of Canada’s planned high-speed rail line will be built between Montreal and Ottawa, Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon announced today (Dec. 12). Construction will begin within four years — half the time that had originally been projected, MacKinnon said during a morning news conference in Gatineau. “This segment represents a […]

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BLET ratifies contracts with CPKC, SEPTA

Logo of Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen have ratified new contracts with CPKC’s former Soo Line territory in the U.S. and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, the union has announced. Ballots were counted on Thursday, Dec. 11, in both ratification votes, but details of the voting were not released. The […]

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FRA issues safety alerts to warn railroads about grade crossing incidents

Rail workers riding on hopper car

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration on Thursday issued a pair of safety alerts related to recent grade crossing accidents that killed railroaders or motorists. In a safety advisory, the FRA emphasized the importance of crews determining that track is clear prior to making shove movements through crossings that are not protected by gates. “This […]

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News photo: 2025 CPKC Holiday Train traversing Wisconsin (with video)

Diesel-powered trains with holiday lights stopped at a station

HARTLAND, Wis. — The former Milwaukee Road main line across Wisconsin has been welcoming the return of CPKC’s Holiday Train for the 2025 season. The tour across the Badger State began on the evening of Dec. 9, with public whistle stops in Sturtevant and Caledonia, Wis., before overnighting in Milwaukee’s Muskego Yard. The train was […]

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Amtrak, LIRR update work on East River Tunnel project

Interior of railroad tunnel

NEW YORK — Amtrak and Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials say the East River tunnel rehabilitation project is on schedule after six months, with repairs on the first of two tunnels to be completed by July. The operators addressed progress on the tunnel project with local media on Wednesday (Dec. 10), with Laura Mason, Amtrak executive […]

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National Railroad Hall of Fame announces 2025 inductees

Logo of the National Railroad Hall of Fame

GALESBURG, Ill. — Former Norfolk Southern CEO David Goode, 1880s Santa Fe President William Strong, and former Santa Fe CEO John Reed are the 2025 inductees to the National Railroad Hall of Fame, the Galesburg-based organization has announced. The honorees were selected by the Hall of Fame’s national Rail Industry Advisory Group from among nine […]

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BLET, New York, Susquehanna & Western reach tentative contract agreement

New York, Susquehanna & Western GP40 No. 3040 switches an industry in Utica, N.Y. Bill Stephens

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has reached a tentative agreement with the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway on a new contract, the union has announced. Terms were not disclosed. The union said the agreement includes wage increases and work rule improvements, and would see union members covered by the […]

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ASLRRA to induct Corman, McCaffrey, and Smith into short line hall of fame

American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association logo

WASHINGTON — The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association has selected three inductees to the Short Line Railroad Industry Hall of Fame: Richard Jay Corman (posthumously), R. Lawrence McCaffrey, and Michael V. Smith. Each has left indelible marks on the short line industry, the ASLRRA said this week. “The Short Line Railroad Industry Hall […]

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CSX grounds its corporate jet fleet

CSX logo

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX has shut down its aviation department, which flew corporate jets to whisk railroad executives around the system and elsewhere. The department, which had been in operation for 84 years and employed pilots and mechanics, was disbanded on Dec. 1, the railroad confirmed. A spokesman declined to release any details about the […]

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Norfolk Southern to serve new $6 billion pharmaceutical plant in Alabama

Norfolk Southern logo

ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern will serve a new $6 billion Eli Lilly and Co. manufacturing campus that the pharmaceutical company will build in Huntsville, Ala. The project, which was announced on Tuesday, is the largest single initial investment in Alabama history, Gov. Kay Ivey said. NS will provide carload service to the plant, which is […]

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Lake State Railway purchases four SD70ACe-T4 locomotives

SAGINAW, Mich. — Lake State Railway Co., the Michigan regional railroad, today announced that it is purchasing four SD70ACe-T4 locomotives from Progress Rail. LSRC received an emissions grant to replace five older locomotives with four newer Tier 4 locomotives. The railroad says it chose the SD70ACe-T4 built by EMD successor Progress Rail due to several […]

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