Amtrak asks STB to require CSX, NS to allow Gulf Coast service (updated)

Amtrak logo.

WASHINGTON — Amtrak is taking its effort to start service along the Gulf Coast to the Surface Transportation Board. The passenger railroad is asking the regulatory body to require CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern to permit operation of two daily round trips between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. In its filing, Amtrak is asking for […]

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Digest: Savannah port sees first traffic at new container terminal

Logo of Georgia Ports Authority

Savannah port sees first traffic at new container terminal; rail capacity project advances The Port of Savannah, Ga., has welcomed the first container ship to call on its Ocean Terminal, partially converted from roll-on/roll-off cargo to handle container traffic. The Savannah Morning News reports the conversion adds 210,000 twenty-foot-equaivalent units, or TEUs — the standard […]

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Digest: Union ratifies new contracts with VIA

VIA Rail Canada logo

Union ratifies new agreements with VIA Rail Canada Unifor, the union representing more than 1,600 VIA Rail Canada employees, has ratified tentative agreements with the passenger carrier reached in January. The two-year agreements include a 2% wage increase, benefit improvements, and a review of several work rules. “We are delighted by the ratification of the […]

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Digest: Corporations exit consortium overseeing railway, port serving Churchill, Manitoba

VIA_ChurchIll_Johnston

Financier, ag firm exit consortium for Churchill, Manitoba, railway and port Two major corporations have given away their stake in the railway and port serving remote Churchill, Manitoba, but the local group overseeing both say their region will be better served by having full control. The Winnipeg Free Press reports Toronto financing firm Fairfax and […]

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Digest: Georgia excursion train set for sold-out debut

Map showing route of Azalea Sprinter excursion train

‘Azelea Sprinter’ excursion train debuts in Georgia A new Georgia excursion train will debut this weekend with sold-out trips. WALB-TV reports the Azelea Sprinter, operating by CaterParrott Railnet on the Georgia & Florida Railroad, sold out its first three trips in less than two days. The train will depart from Nashville, Ga., and offer three […]

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Digest: Cleanup of CP derailment in Minnesota to last into summer

Derailed tank cars along single track main line in snowy rural scene.

Cleanup of CP derailment will continue into summer, city officials say Cleanup of a Canadian Pacific derailment in Plymouth, Minn., will last into the summer and “cause ongoing disruption and noise for surrounding neighbors,” city officials have said. In a news release, the city said the length of the process is “due to the size […]

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Digest: Virgin sues Brightline over end of licensing agreement

A streamlined passenger train on a double-tracked mainline with palm trees in the background.

  Virgin sues Brightline for $251 million over end of ‘Virgin Trains’ name Virgin Enterprises, the corporation headed by Sir Richard Branson, is suing Brightline over the rail operator’s decision to drop the “Virgin Trains” name. The BBC reports Virgin is suing for $251 million, saying Brightline is reneging on a 20-year licensing deal by […]

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Amtrak says it will pay for platform work on Gulf Coast

Glass-backed Amtrak observation car alongside a station platform.

MOBILE, Ala. — Pending approval from the Federal Railroad Administration, Amtrak intends to pay for repairs to station platforms to be used by the Gulf Coast service Amtrak plans to launch in 2022. Vice President of Stations and Accessibility Dr. David Handera told members of the Southern Rail Commission, holding their quarterly meeting on Friday, […]

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New Hope Valley Railway returns to action with ‘Hop Into Spring’

A person rides the steps of a caboose on the back of a train in a green forested landscape.

The North Carolina Railway Museum, which lost most of its 2020 season to the COVID-19 pandemic, will begin 2021 operations of the New Hope Valley Railway with a new event later in March. The all-volunteer, non-profit railway, will host “Hop into Spring,” with rides Saturday and Sunday, March 27-27. The event will feature socially distant […]

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Remembering the Seaboard Air Line Railroad

Stainless-steel streamliner crossing bridge.

History of the Seaboard Air Line The Seaboard’s beginnings date to 1832, when the Portsmouth & Roanoke was chartered to build from Portsmouth, Va., to Weldon, N.C. Opened in 1834 the companies’ backers saw great potential to link the North with the South’s agricultural and forest products and with its developing potential for industry. P&R […]

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