BNSF announces $3.6 billion capital plan for 2026

Double-stack container train passing maintenance equipment

FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway will spend $3.6 billion under its 2026 capital plan, the railroad announced today (Jan. 26), with the majority — $2.8 billion — ticketed for infrastructure maintenance. “Our 2026 capital plan focuses on strengthening and modernizing our network so we can continue to meet our customers’ evolving needs,” CEO Katie […]

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Sound Transit sets March 28 for opening of light rail Crosslake Connection

Light rail train on bridge shared with highway

SEATTLE — Sound Transit’s light rail Crosslake Connection — the section of Line 2 across Lake Washington to complete the route to Redmond, Wash. — will open on March 28, the transit agency announced Friday. The section between International District/Chinatown and South Bellevue, which will connect Line 2 with the north-south Line 1, includes the […]

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Pennsylvania DOT awards almost $53 million for freight rail projects

Red, white, and blue end-cab switcher

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation will provide nearly $53 million for 30 rail freight infrastructure projects under a pair of grant programs, PennDOT announced on Wednesday, Jan. 21. Funding will come from the state’s Rail Transportation Assistance Program and Rail Freight Investment Program, which have invested more than $150 million in the state […]

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North Carolina DOT awards $16.3 million for rail infrastructure work

Logo of the North Carolina Department of Transportation

RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Transportation will provide $16.3 million in funding for 15 rail infrastructure projects through its Rail Division’s Freight Rail & Rail Crossing Safety Improvement program. With matching grants from participating railroads and the N.C. Ports Authority, the projects will have a total value of $41.5 million. “These projects […]

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RCP&E purchase of South Dakota-owned trackage approved

Map of South Dakota showing Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad and other rail lines

PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota’s State Railroad Board has approved the sale of two segments of state-owned trackage to Genesee & Wyoming’s Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad for $3.125 million. The purchase was approved by a 4-0 vote at the board’s meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 21. It include 19.5 miles of track — the […]

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Brightline West now aims for completion in late 2029

People lined up to tap spikes with hammers

LAS VEGAS — The completion date for the Brightline West high-speed rail project has been pushed back again, this time to late 2029. The company informed KVVU-TV of that date last week, but not did elaborate on reasons for the new estimate. It did say the project is in the “civil construction” phase, preparing the […]

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Kansas DOT awards $11.2 million for rail infrastructure projects

Logo of Kansas Department of Transportation

TOPEKA, Kan. — Ten rail infrastructure projects will receive a total of $11.2 million in funding from the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Rail Service Improvement Program, the state announced last week. The projects awarded were selected from 20 applications seeking a total of more than $33.5 million in funding. The projects also will receive more […]

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Portal Bridge cutover to trigger 50% reduction in trains for a month

NEWARK, N.J. — Amtrak and NJ Transit will reduce the number of weekday trains between Newark and Secaucus, N.J., from 332 to 178 between Feb. 15 and March 14 for the first phase of work moving traffic to the new Portal North Bridge, officials said during a press conference today (Jan. 15). The outage is […]

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CSX completes upgrades to expand Ohio’s Willard Yard

WILLARD, Ohio — CSX Transportation has added merchandise capacity at its Willard, Ohio, rail yard after phased improvements helped convert the idled hump yard to a flat switching facility. Railroad officials say the former Baltimore & Ohio terminal can now handle 600 railcars per day, up from 300  two years ago. CSX shut down the […]

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New York state awards more than $101 million for rail, port infrastructure projects

View of rail yard through locomotive window

ALBANY, N.Y. — The Long Island Rail Road has received $10 million grants for two projects as part of New York state’s Passenger and Freight Rail Assistance Program, part of more than $101 million in funding for rail and port infrastructure projects announced on Friday (Jan. 9, 2026). Those awards, and two $10 million awards […]

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Kentucky awards almost $3 million for rail infrastructure projects

Logo of Kentucky Transportation Cabinet

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Paducah & Louisville Railway, R.J. Corman, and Norfolk Southern are among the recipients of funding from the Commonwealth of Kentucky for grade-crossing safety projects, part of almost $3 million in funding awarded under a pair of grant programs by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Projects on the three railroads were among seven […]

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Worker injured, tracks closed by washout on UP near Santa Barbara

Heavy equipment in washed-out area near ocean

GAVIOTA, Calif. — Union Pacific and Amtrak operations along the Coast Line in Santa Barbara County have been shut down by a washout that led to an incident in which a maintenance worker was injured. The Santa Barbara County Fire Department reports it responded at 7:47 a.m. today (Jan. 6, 2026) to an incident north […]

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