TORONTO — Siemens Mobility has been awarded a contract by Ontario transportation agency Metrolinx to handle track, signal, and right-of-way maintenance for the Central Region of Toronto’s passenger rail infrastructure system, Siemens has announced. Siemens already has a similar contract in the West Region and handles signal and communications services at the Metrolinx Network Operations. […]
CHESTERTON, Ind. — South Shore Line rail service will resume between the Gary Metro Center and Dune Park stations on April 9, ending a bus substitution to accommodate construction for the Double Track Project that dates to February 2022, the Northern Indiana Commuter Transit District has announced. Initially, train service will operate using a schedule […]
BOSTON — A four-day shutdown of Massachusetta Bay Transportation Authority’s Orange Line between Jackson Square and North Station resulted in elimination of six speed restrictions, with a seventh removed over the weekend after the conclusion of the March 18-21 suspension of service, the MBTA reports. “I’m proud of the dedicated workforce that worked in a […]
When I first got into model railroading, I tried handlaying my own track and quickly discovered that it wasn’t that hard. One benefit is that buying rail, spikes, and ties in bulk is considerably cheaper than purchasing ready-made track. Handlaying also lets me to duplicate unusual track arrangements found on full-size railroads. In addition, it […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration has proposed rules to protect track workers for all transit agencies, the first such effort to propose minimum national standards for track maintenance safety. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking now available at the Federal Register would require transit agencies to create a protection program for personnel who work on […]
PITTSBURGH — A seven-week closure of Pittsburgh Regional Transit light rail lines in downtown Pittsburgh is set to begin April 5, part of a newly accelerated schedule for a multi-year, $150 million project to improve the light rail network. The transit agency announced Tuesday, March 19, that it would combine multiple projects that were intended […]
PHILADELPHIA — Amtrak has begun a $122 million project to improve its Harrisburg line between Lancaster, Pa., and Harrisburg, a project that will see some trains replaced by a bus bridge on that 36-mile segment four days a week for more than six months beginning April 8. Those outages, along with schedule adjustments at other […]
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Regular Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink commuter rail service through San Clemente is slated to resume Monday, March 25, after two months of disruptions because of the latest in a series of landslides along the Surf Line in the South Orange County community. The Orange County Transportation Authority announced today (Tuesday, […]
DEL MAR, Calif. — Construction will begin this month on a three-year, $78 million project to stabilize the Del Mar Bluffs along the Surf Line rail line, the Times of San Diego reports. The segment along the Pacific Ocean has long been a source of erosion and occasional line closures on the route used by […]
CINCINNATI — The city of Cincinnati’s sale of the Cincinnati Southern Railway to Norfolk Southern has been completed. Paul Muething, president of the Cincinnati Southern board of trustees, said in a statement available on the railway website that the board received the $1.6 billion payment from NS, plus $20 million in deferred transaction fees, on […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s ongoing efforts to eliminate slow orders on its rail transit system will continue with shutdowns on the Orange, Blue, and Red lines in April, the agency has announced. Also planned are shutdowns on several commuter rail lines, one of which will last for nine days. More complete details […]
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — A track crew began restoring East Broad Top Railroad’s main line south of here this week, a first step toward reopening the narrow-gauge steam tourist line’s 20-mile route to Robertsdale, Pa., a former mountain mining center that produced the semi-bituminous coal that was EBT’s revenue-freight lifeblood for more than 80 years. […]
