OTTAWA, Ontario — VIA Rail Canada’s interim CEO faced pointed questions about equipment problems and remote service during a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday, with equipment reliability issues spurring a resolution calling for VIA’s upcoming long-distance equipment purchase to follow “Buy Canadian” rules. The session before the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure, and […]
CHICAGO — Late arrivals are, to a degree, preordained for Amtrak’s long-distance trains on the first weekend of Daylight Saving Time — but not to the extent experienced by the California Zephyr and Southwest Chief. When clocks advance by one hour every spring (except in Arizona, which does not observe Daylight Saving Time), Amtrak trains […]
WASHINGTON — Thirty-six members of California’s congressional delegation have asked the White House for some $2 billion in transit funding to support the 2028 Olympic and Paralymic Games. “Like you, we collectively want to ensure that we have a safe, secure, efficient, and accessible transportation network in the Los Angeles mega-region for this global sporting […]
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — An arbitrator has ordered Canadian National to reinvest in its Transcona Wheel Shop, return work to in-house, and compensate affected workers, the Unifor union said today. The ruling stems from CN’s closure of the wheel shop, traction motor shop, and air brake shop at the yard in Winnipeg during the COVID-19 pandemic […]
DENVER — Colorado residents can now vote to name the train for the Fort Collins-Pueblo rail passenger service planned by the Front Range Passenger Rail District. Name-the-train voting will be held through March 23 at this page of the Front Range Passenger Rail website, and can choose from four finalists selected by the district: Colorado […]
LOGAN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Two locomotives and 17 cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed today (Saturday, March 7) in Logan Township near Horseshoe Curve, WJAC-TV reports. NS told the station that the derailment occurred about 12:03 a.m. and that no crew members were injured. The derailment has led to the cancellation of both directions […]
CHICAGO — Amtrak is addressing the coach capacity shortfall on the Coast Starlight and Sunset Limited while shuffling equipment to beef up summer consists on other Superliner-equipped trains. However, the railroad still contends it can’t come up with two Viewliner sleeping cars and two Viewliner diners to augment the triweekly Cardinal, its perpetually sold-out New […]
WASHINGTON — Three members of Congress from the Northeast have requested additional Amtrak service for Trenton, N.J., and the Metropark station in Iselin, N.J. In a letter to Amtrak President Roger Harris, U.S. Reps. Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.), Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) note the upcoming World Cup soccer games and semiquincentennial events […]
CHICAGO — Amtrak has taken a significant step to address the boarding experience for passengers with disabilities. To better aid the increasing number of passengers requesting assistance at stations, Brian Dassell, the company’s senior director of customer service, tells Trains, “We created a process for customers to put their name on a virtual list to […]
RICHMOND, Va. — Amtrak and the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority will launch new express bus service between Richmond and Washington, D.C., this Saturday, March 7, as part of ongoing efforts to address service changes because of the ongoing Long Bridge project. The Amtrak Connection service to and from Richmond will accommodate morning travel north to […]
HONOLULU — Ocean shipping firm Matson, BNSF Railway, and heavy-duty lock maker War-Lok will partner to enhance security for intermodal shippers, an effort set to begin in the second quarter of 2026. The program will provide two new layers of security at no cost to customers, Matson said in an annoucement this week. The first […]
WASHINGTON — In the latest in a recent series of rail safety bills, U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced on Wednesday, March 4, that they would introduce legislation requiring railroads to maintain visual track inspections in conjunction with automated track inspection systems. U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) is leading the companion […]
