BNSF bridge at Fort Madison, Iowa, reopens after barge strike

Train with orange locomotives rounds curve

FORT MADISON, Iowa — BNSF Railway’s bridge across the Mississippi River between Fort Madison and Niota, Ill., was briefly closed today after having been struck by a barge, but has been reopened, according to authorities. The Hancock County (Ill.) Sheriff’s Office reported the closure at about 1:40 p.m.; police in Fort Madison posted on Facebook […]

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Minnesota DOT provides $9.6 million in funding for 11 freight rail projects

Minnesota Department of Transportation logo

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Department of Transportation has awarded a total of $9.6 million to 11 freight rail projects under the Minnesota Rail Service improvement program, the agency announced this week. Funding, approved during the 2023 legislative special session, supports economic development in regions across the state. “Improving Minnesota’s rail service gives local […]

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Sand takes increasing role to protect rail line in San Clemente, Calif.

Cab car leads passenger train along track next to ocean

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Use of some 500,000 cubic yards of sand as a buffer has been added to the Orange County Transportation Authority’s plans to protect the Surf Line through San Clemente, the Orange County Register reports. The route used by Metrolink commuter trains, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliners, and BNSF freight traffic has been plagued […]

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NTSB issues preliminary report on UP track worker fatality

Aerial view of site of fatal track-worker accident

WASHINGTON — A Union Pacific track maintenance manager was killed when he was struck by an excavator operated by a contract worker, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on a fatal April 11 incident near McNeil, Ark. The incident occurred about 6:22 p.m. as a work crew was replacing a culvert on […]

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MBTA maintenance removes all Blue Line speed restrictions

Crew working on track at rail transit station

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has eliminated all speed restrictions from the rapid-transit Blue Line as a result of a maintenance shutdown that concluded on Tuesday, April 30, the agency announced Wednesday. A total of 19 speed restrictions were eliminated over a 5-mile stretch of the Blue Line during work that began April […]

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Long Chicago-Quad Cities Amtrak service impasse illustrates hurdles for new routes: Analysis

Red wooden railroad station next to single-track line.

MOLINE, Ill. — Among the 69 projects receiving Federal Railroad Administration Corridor Identification and Development Program grants last December was a familiar route: Chicago-Quad Cities. Familiar because that route, in addition to being among the recipients of the $500,000 Corridor ID grant [see “Full list of passenger routes …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 8, 2023], […]

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MBTA adjusts plans for Red Line maintenance work

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority logo

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s extended schedule for its current Blue Line track work is having a ripple effect on upcoming plans for the Red Line. The planned shutdown of the Red Line between Park Street and the JFK/UMass stations will now be held May 2-10, beginning one day later than originally planned. […]

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MBTA extends current Blue Line maintenance closure

Portion of MBTA rail transit map

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will extend the current maintenance closure of the Blue Line by two days, to April 30, to complete work needed to eliminate 16 speed restrictions, the agency announced Thursday at a board of directors meeting. The current Blue Line project began April 17, first involving a closure between […]

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Completion of Maya Train pushed back to September

Passenger train on bridge

CANCÚN, Mexico — Completion of Mexico’s Maya Train, originally touted as coming in February and subsequently projected for April or May, has been pushed back to September after a decision to modify plans to avoid further damage to underground caverns along the incomplete section of the 950-mile tourist rail system. The work in the 120-kilometer […]

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Montreal’s REM faces new delays

Yellow construction equipment inside railroad tunnel

MONTREAL — Ongoing work in the Mount Royal tunnel will further delay completion of the Réseau express métropolitain light rail project, the private developers said today (Wednesday, April 24). REM developer CDPQ Infra, the infrastructure arm of provincial pension manager Caisee de dépôt et placement du Quebec, said in an update posted today on the […]

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MBTA sets more track projects for May

Worker welding in subway tunnel

BOSTON — The rapid transit Red, Green and Orange lines will see service disruptions in May as part of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s ongoing effort to address slow orders, while six commuter rail lines will also see service disruptions. These service outages for maintenance have been scheduled: — On the Red Line, a previously […]

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Brightline West groundbreaking hailed as ‘start of high-speed rail industry in U.S.’

People lined up to tap spikes with hammers

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The moment for Brightline West has arrived. But to Brightline founder Wes Edens — as well as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and others — a groundbreaking ceremony today on a lot a short distance south of the Las Vegas Strip marked more than just the official start of construction on the […]

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