An old soldier passes: Metra closes 16th Street Tower (with video)

Commuter train passes interlocking tower at night

CHICAGO — J.D. Danton’s shift at Metra’s 16th Street Tower on Friday night and Saturday morning (April 11-12, 2025) was certainly nothing new. And yet, the dilapidated structure had never seen anything like it — and never will again. Danton was the operator on duty when the interlocking tower dating to 1901 relinquished its control […]

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The Michigan Air Line

White-and-black sign with “MAL CROSSING” text denoting Michigan Air Line junction

  Typical of their brethren everywhere, even a century after the fact many railroaders still called certain southern Michigan branchline segments “the Air Line.” But unlike many such monikers elsewhere for short-cuts or straight-track segments, this one had an ancestor with that actual name. The Michigan Air Line Railroad was planned to link the Canada […]

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Could short lines come to the rescue of Class I railroads?

Louisiana shortline’s first train sits on tracks on startup day.

DENVER — There’s a pachyderm of a quandary haunting the executive conference rooms of Class I railroads, and short lines may be the solution. Carload volumes have been falling since 2008-2009, almost a generation’s worth of declines that began with the global financial crisis and accelerated during the fall of coal and the hollowing out […]

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Legislation would coordinate law enforcement response to cargo theft

WASHINGTON — Railroads and retailers are praising a bipartisan bill in Congress that aims to reduce cargo theft. The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, which was introduced yesterday, would create a coordinated federal response to a rising wave of sophisticated cargo thefts, many of which target consumer goods in containers carried on double-stack trains. “Organized […]

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Utah mine shutdown halts Union Pacific export iron ore unit trains

The trade war between the U.S. and China has prompted a Utah iron ore mine to shut down, a move that at least temporarily ends Union Pacific unit train operations between Cedar City, Utah, and the Port of Long Beach, Calif. Utah Iron LLC announced on Wednesday that it would close the Cedar City mine […]

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Budget passed by Ohio House would fund return to regional passenger rail group

Map of existing and proposed Ohio passenger rail service

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a small sign of support for rail passenger service, Ohio legislators have included funding for the state to rejoin a regional rail group. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the state’s $61 billion, two-year budget passed by the state House of Representatives includes $25,000 in funding each year for the state to […]

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Kentucky awards more than $3.6 million for rail infrastructure projects

Kentucky's state seal

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky is awarding more than $3.6 million in state grants under two programs to help fund rail infrastructure projects. The grants, announced Thursday, April 10, include more than $2 million under the Kentucky Industrial Access and Safety Improvements program, which provides 50% of funding for construction, improvement, or rehabilitation of rail lines, […]

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Report: FRA should promote technology and safety innovation

Boxcar equipped with scientific instruments for railroad track inspection.

WASHINGTON— The Federal Railroad Administration should promote track and equipment inspection technology innovation by overhauling its safety waiver review process, according to a think tank that focuses on infrastructure issues. The Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure says the FRA’s safety waiver process has been bogged down by outdated rules and political interference. The group examined […]

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STB asks CN, Amtrak for more information regarding contract dispute

Passenger train stops at station

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board is seeking more information in the long-running dispute between Canadian National Railway and Amtrak over a new operating agreement. In a decision issued on Tuesday (April 8), the board asked for information on 14 separate aspects of topics including scheduling and on-time performance; incentives and penalties; host-responsible delays; and […]

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Stockton Diamond project gains $14 million in funding

Map of crossing of BNSF, Union Pacifi mainlines in Stockton, Calif.

STOCKTON, Calif. — The Stockton Diamond Grade Separation project, which seeks to eliminate an at-grade crossing of BNSF and Union Pacific main lines, has received $14 million in federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funding. The funding has been approved by the San Joaquin Council of Governments, or SJCOG “The last thing our farmers and […]

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MTA announces plan to address climate vulnerability of Metro-North Hudson Line

Earthmovers at work to clear mudslide on railroad tracks

NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has launched an initiative to protect Metro-North’s Hudson Line from climate change with work to address stormwater runoff, tidal flooding, and other issues. The Metro-North Hudson Line Climate Resilience Blueprint will focus on a 20-mile stretch of the 74-mile route between Croton-Harmon and Riverdale, rebuilding infrastructure such as […]

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U.S. rail traffic remains ahead of 2024 levels

Weekly table showing U.S. carload rail traffic by commodity type, plus overall intermodal volume

WASHINGTON — U.S. weekly rail traffic remained ahead of 2024 levels in the week ending April 5, the sixth straight week of such gains and just the second showing a double-digit increase. According to information from the Association of American Railroads, volume for the week was 500,584 carloads and intermodal units, an 11.2% increase over […]

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