CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin led the list of officials on hand Thursday (April 24, 2025) for groundbreaking on the New River Valley Rail Project, which will allow extension of Amtrak service from Roanoke, Va., to Christiansburg. When that service begins, it will be the first time the New River Valley has had […]
WASHINGTON — The probable cause of a rear-end collision between two Norfolk Southern freight trains near Easton, Pa., last year — an incident that involved three trains in all — was the engineer’s failure to follow restricted speed requirements, the National Transportation Safety Board said today (April 23, 2025). But the lack of positive train […]
VINCENNES, Ind. — The city of Vincennes has reached agreement with a Muncie, Ind., company to install a system informing drivers when railroad grade crossings are blocked. PBS station WVUT reports the city’s Board of Works approved a Memorandum of Understanding with Interfact to install cameras at six grade crossings in the city. Those cameras […]
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 […]
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, […]
WASHINGTON — DC Metrorail will not be allowed to expand use of Automatic Train Operation, the automated system currently in use on its Red Line, because trains are overshooting station stops too frequently. That was the decision Tuesday at a meeting of the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, the independent agency overseeing rail operations of the […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX announced it has reached a five-year tentative contract agreement with the Brotherhood of Railway Signalmen, which represents 1,215 workers at the railroad. In addition to wage increases, the agreement includes health and welfare benefits, vacation improvements, and improvements to seven local work rules, the union said on its website. The agreement […]
CHICAGO — Improvements and 52 stations and replacement of 43 grade crossings are part of Metra’s planned capital projects during its 2025 construction season, the commuter rail operator announced Tuesday, March 18. Track, bridge, and signal work is also on the agenda. “We plan to take full advantage of the construction season to address projects […]
ST. LOUIS — A 21-year-old Missouri man has admitted to stealing more than $1.5 million in railroad equipment in Missouri and Illinois. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said in a press release that Jesse Henry of Laclede County, Mo., pleaded guilty on Friday, Feb. 28, to one count of damaging […]
HARRISBURG, Pa. – With a cellphone, tablet or notebook in hand, visitors can activate a Pennsylvania Railroad position-light signal here to replicate any of 19 indications, past or present, used to govern train movements. The Harrisburg Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society on Wednesday (Feb. 19) completed a project, years in the making, that […]
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego area planning agency seeking to develop an inland alternative to the Surf Line rail route along the Del Mar Bluffs has once again broadened the number of prospective routes — with options including a massive relocation project along Interstate 5. The San Diego Association of Governments, or SANDAG, includes […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has completed implementation of Automatic Train Control on its commuter rail lines, the agency has announced. The ATC project involves a federally mandated signal upgrade required as part of positive train control. “Our state transportation system must be safe for all users, and completing MBTA Automatic Train Control […]
