NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani has called for reviving a plan to build housing over Sunnyside Yard in Queens, the mostly Amtrak-owned facility that handles equipment for the national passenger carrier, NJ Transit, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Mamdani met last week with President Donald Trump and said Trump indicated support for the idea. […]
OMAHA, Neb. — BNSF Railway needs to close the operating-ratio gap with the other Class I railroads, new Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel said on Saturday in his first annual letter to shareholders. BNSF continues to perform well from a safety standpoint and has improved its efficiency and service, Abel wrote. “In 2025, shipments spent […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — VIA Rail Canada needs to improve service and to address some managerial practices, the Auditor General of Canada says in a report issued Friday (Feb. 27). But an audit generally found the company to be well run. The audit report’s assessment of VIA operations notes that the company owns just 3% of […]
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. — The parent agency of Florida commuter operator Tri-Rail has named an interim executive director and launched the search to hire a permanent replacement. At a Friday meeting, the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority board named Diane Hernandez del Calvo, currently deputy executive director, to serve in the interim leadership role. Del […]
In a continued effort to improve our coverage, we’re introducing a weekly feature for TrainsPRO. It will be a weekly recap, highlighting our most popular stories of the week, and also occasionally shining a spotlight on stories that you might have missed, but that our editorial team believes might develop into the next big story […]
WASHINGTON — A proposed new, 6-mile Union Pacific branchline in the Phoenix area would have no significant environmental impacts so long as mitigation recommendations are followed, the Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis said today. As a result, the project — dubbed PIRATE for Pecos Industrial Rail Access Train Extension — will not require […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX welcomed more than 130 short line partners to its annual Short Line Conference, held Feb. 22–24, continuing a 35-year tradition. CSX says the event provided short line leaders with direct access to the Class I railroad’s executives and experts from across the company. “This conference is about alignment, growing together, performing […]
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen reached a tentative agreement on a five-year contract with the Indiana Rail Road earlier this month, the union has announced. The agreement, which would be retroactive to July 1, 2024, would include annual pay raises each year through July 1, 2029, as well as a […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will seek public comment as it develops an updated strategy for regional rail service, the agency announced on Thursday (Feb. 26). The MBTA’s Rail Modernization Plan will aim to identify near-term investments and long-term needs to improve frequency, reliability, and accessibility while pursuing decarbonization strategies. MBTA General Manager […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has weighed in on the Surface Transportation Board’s proposal to revise its rules regarding reciprocal switching, saying such agreements would serve national defense interests. The STB in January announced plans to repeal regulations that it says have prevented captive carload and bulk shippers from gaining access to a second railroad […]
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A bill introduced in the Illinois legislature would establish “aspirational service frequencies” of every four hours or less on 18 regional or long-distance passenger routes radiating from Chicago. HB4279, the Passenger Rail Planning Act, was introduced in January by state Reps. Rita Mayfield (D-Waukegan) and Kam Buckner (D-Chicago). It does not include […]
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — CSX has reduced cargo theft in the Memphis area by more than 80% from a year ago through a task force targeting the issue as well as operational changes, the railroad says. Following a pandemic-era increase in criminal activity, the task force was formed in 2024 to address concerns for customer shipments, […]
