NEWARK, N.J. — An Amtrak employee has pleaded guilty to participation in a health-care scheme that defrauded the passenger operator’s health plan of more than $11 million. Rodolfo Rivera, 41, of Clayton, Del., pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of […]
FRESNO, Calif. — Despite federal funding uncertainty, California High-Speed Rail Authority officials say they “remain committed and aggressive in moving this historic project forward while actively pursuing additional funding.” The authority made that assertion in a statement to Trains News Wire following a board of directors meeting Thursday (Jan. 23, 2025) at the authority’s Fresno […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway plans to spend $3.8 billion on capital projects in 2025, with the vast majority for network maintenance, the company announced today (Jan. 23, 2025). “Our 2025 capital plan reflects BNSF’s ongoing commitment to investing in our network to support our customers’ growth and operating a safe, efficient and reliable […]
BOSTON — A former official for Keolis Commuter Services, operator of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter trains, has pleaded guilty to defrauding Keolis of $8 million. John P. Pigsley, 59, the former assistant chief engineer of facilities at Keolis, also pleaded guilty of defrauding the Internal Revenue Service. He will be sentenced in April. Pigsley […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX revenue and profits declined in the fourth quarter as growth in merchandise and intermodal traffic was not enough to overcome sharp declines in coal and fuel surcharge revenue. The impact of a pair of hurricanes — both of which affected traffic bound to and from Florida, the railroad’s highest-volume state — […]
WASHINGTON — Widespread support for a federal grade-crossing safety program emerged during a lengthy House subcommittee hearing, a session which also saw representatives of the railroad industry and rail labor lay down markers for their priorities in the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization bill. The two-hour, 45-minute session today (Jan. 23) of the Transportation and Infrastructure […]
WASHINGTON — A shuffling of congressional committee assignments has led to a new chairman for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials. U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) was named the subcommittee chair on Tuesday, Jan. 21, following the reassignment of Rep. David Rouzer (R-N.C.), who will now head the Highways […]
PITTSBURGH — TRANSAP, a rail-based logistics company in Chile, has ordered four C30ACi locomotives, Wabtec has announced. The locomotives will be the company’s first with AC traction. They will be used to fulfill a long-term contract with forestry company ARAUCO on Chile’s Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado rail network. “This order is a critical step […]
OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific’s profits rose in the fourth quarter as volume increased 5% and operating costs fell. “Our strong fourth quarter results represent a great capstone to a very successful year for Union Pacific,” CEO Jim Vena said in a statement. “The team has fully embraced our strategy to lead the industry in […]
CHICAGO — Commuter operator Metra says it is considering the rarely used option of outside financing to address its increasingly urgent need to replace aging bridges. Metra owns 446 of the 926 bridges on its system, and of those 446, 50% are more than 100 years old and another 30% are more than 75 years […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic showed a massive jump for the week ending Jan. 18, 2025, with both carload and intermodal traffic up more than 25% from the same week a year earlier. Statistics from the Association of American Railroads show overall traffic for the week was 500,160 carloads and intermodal units, a 25.9% increase. […]
Industrial park railroading has long been an area of interest to model railroaders. This type of railroading serves a concentrated group businesses, and it may or may not be affiliated with a class one railroad. Often the industrial park has its own railroad, or its tracks are served by a local company or nearby short […]
