Long Island Rail Road, five unions released from required mediation

Electric multiple-unit commuter train at junction

  WASHINGTON — The Long Island Rail Road could face a strike by or lockout of five unions as soon as Sept. 18 after the National Mediation board announced it had released the commuter operator and those unions from mediation required by the Railway Labor Act. The unions involved are the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers […]

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Trucking company, transload organization announce support for UP-NS merger

Refrigerated containers on intermodal train

Refrigerated intermodal company C.R. England Trucking and transloading and logistics firm The Transload Group on Monday announced their support for the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger, citing the benefits of a transcontinental rail operator. The Salt Lake City-based C.R. England said it offered “strong support” for the merger, saying it believes the “coast-to-cost integration marks a […]

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Congressman says SEPTA cuts could endanger Amtrak’s Keystone Service

blue and silver passenger train passes brick tower

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania Congressman says he has been told that Amtrak’s Keystone Service — the Harrisburg-Philadelphia-New York route offering 13 weekday round trips — could be in jeopardy if state legislators don’t address the funding crisis that has the Southeastern Regional Transportation Authority planning major service cuts. The online news site Pennsylvania Capital-Star […]

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Mardi Gras Service debuts with track blockage, CSX dispatching questions: Analysis

Passenger train passing white two-story building

BAY SAINT LOUIS, Miss. — Perhaps no community along Amtrak’s Mardi Gras route has been more enthusiastic about the launch of the two daily round trips than townspeople at the first stop east of New Orleans. So on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, the first  day of revenue service, it was not surprising a crowd showed […]

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Mexico, Guatemala, Belize to study cross-border rail connections

Front of British-built passenger train

MEXICO CITY — Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize plan to create a working group to study the creation of rail connections between the three nations, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday. The plans were announced following a Friday, Aug. 15, meeting between Sheinbuam, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo and Belizean Prime Minister John Briceño. The business news […]

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Schamber named as Metrolink chief financial officer

Smiling man in black coat and maroon shirt with tie.

LOS ANGELES — Tom Schamber has been named as chief financial officer of Los Angeles-area commuter rail operator Metrolink. The appointment, announced Monday, Aug. 18, is effective immediately. Schamber, who has more almost three decades of management experience in accouting, audit, and financial operations, has been with Metrolink since 2016 and has led the financial […]

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New York MTA awards contract for next phase of Second Avenue Subway extension

Map of New York's Second Avenue Subway project

NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board has approved a $1.97 billion contract for tunnel boring to extend the Second Avenue Subway, a 1.5-mile addition to extend the Q Line from 116th Street to 125th Street, and then west along 125th Street to Park Avenue in East Harlem. The contract approved today (Monday, Aug. […]

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Alstom to build new Toronto subway equipment

Low-angle view of subway train in station

TORONTO — Alstom will build new subway cars for the Toronto Transit Commission at its Thunder Bay, Ontario, plant, after the TTC cancelled bidding for the contract and elected to award the order to the only company that could build the equipment in Canada. The move was announced Friday (Aug. 15), with the TTC saying […]

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Union Pacific adds lobbyists as part of merger effort

Trains Washington Watch logo

WASHINGTON — Union Pacific has bolstered its lobbyist efforts on Capitol Hill to support its effort to merge with Norfolk Southern. Politico reports the railroad has hired a team from the firm of Squire Patton Boggs led by former U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), who spent 18 years in the House, including six as chair […]

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TSB of Canada seeks rail investigator

Logo of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada

DORVAL, Quebec — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is seeking a regional senior investigator for its rail department. The job involves leading and supporting investigations of rail occurences across Canada, developing investigation reports, and communicating results to the public. It is open to individuals residing in Canada, as well as Canadian citizens and permanent […]

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CEO of German national rail company Deutsche Bahn is fired

BERLIN — The CEO of Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s troubled national rail company, has been fired. Broadcaster Deutsche Welle reports Richard Lutz, who had been CEO since 2017 and had a contract through March 2027, was dismissed by Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder today (Aug. 14, 2025).  A DB representative said Lutz would continue as a caretaker […]

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NTSB probe of Norfolk Southern derailment focusing on spring switch maintenance

WASHINGTON — A Norfolk Southern train that derailed last month in Illinois — spilling hazardous materials and injuring two crewmen — occurred as the train rolled through a spring switch that had just undergone maintenance work, the National Transportation Board said today. Eastbound NS train 167 derailed at 5:44 p.m. on July 18 near Browns, […]

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