South Shore board hires engineering firm to plan relocation of South Bend airport station

Train at station platform

PORTER, Ind. — The agency overseeing South Shore Line commuter rail operation has approved a contract for engineering work to relocate the rail terminal at the South Bend International Airport, as well as design a new rail route into the airport. The Times of Northwest Indiana reports that the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, at […]

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Washington short line receives funds for track work

Logo of Portland Vancouver Junction Railroad

VANCOUVER, Wash. — The 33-mile Chelatchie Prairie Railroad, owned by Clark County, Wash., and leased to two operators, will receive $4.7 million in state funding for line rehabilitation work, the Columbian newspaper reports. The first $1.5 million will improve the 14-mile section between Vancouver and Battle Ground, Wash., leased to the Portland Vancouver Junction Railroad, […]

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BNSF opens new bridge at Sandpoint, Idaho

Front view of train crossing bridge with second bridge under construction at left

SANDPOINT, Idaho — BNSF has opened its second bridge over Lake Pend Oreille in Sandpoint, Idaho, providing a second track at a previously one-track bottleneck nearly a year ahead of schedule. The nearly mile-long bridge, next to a structure built by Northern Pacific in 1904, opened on Sunday, Nov. 20. “We are excited about the […]

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Wabtec to acquire Brazilian maintenance equipment firm Super Metal

Rail-mounted excavator

PITTSBURGH — Wabtec has reached agreement to acquire Super Metal, a leading Brazilian supplier of automated vehicles and other maintenance-of-way equipment. Wabtec describes the deal as complementing its 2021 acquisition of U.S. maintenance equipment manufacturer Nordco [see “Wabtec to acquire …,” Trains News Wire, March 23, 2021] and accelerating its strategy of expansion into international […]

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Norfolk Southern offers to buy Cincinnati-owned route to Chattanooga

Map of rail line from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Chattanooga, Tenn.

CINCINNATI — Norfolk Southern has offered to buy the Cincinnati Southern Railway, the route owned by the city of Cincinnati that it currently leases, for more than $1.6 billion. A meeting to consider the sale will be held Monday, Nov. 21, according to the Cincinnati Southern website. The meeting, set for 1 p.m. EST in […]

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CSX selects engineering, consulting firm to oversee Virginia projects

Virginia_Map

PITTSBURGH — Engineering and consulting firm Michael Baker International will lead program and construction management for projects in the Transforming Rail in Virginia initiative, CSX Transportation has announced. Some $3.7 billion in design and construction projects between Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Va., are involved. The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority is the lead state agency in […]

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Metrolink breaks ground on Burbank Junction improvements

Illustration of improvements planned at Burbank Junction

BURBANK — LA-area commuter rail operator Metrolink broke ground Wednesday (Nov. 9) at its Burbank-Downtown station for its Burbank Junction Speed Improvement Project. The work will improve operations at the spot where its Ventura County and Antelope Valley lines meet. The Burbank Junction Speed Improvement Project, located north of the Burbank-Downtown Station, will realign a […]

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Repairs begin at site of September light rail derailment in Colorado

Damaged light-rail train in roadway

AURORA, Colo. — The Regional Transportation District has begun repairs at the intersection where a light rail train derailed in September, leading to an ongoing interruption of service on its R Line, the Denver Post reports. A train derailed at a 90-degree turn through the intersection of South Sable Boulevard and East Exposition Drive on […]

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Glenview, Ill., group objects to condition sought by Metra in CP-KCS merger

Canadian Pacific train heads north on connection from Union Pacific to Metra-owned line in Northbrook, Ill.

WASHINGTON — A group of Glenview, Ill., residents who helped block efforts to expand Amtrak Hiawatha service between Chicago and Milwaukee has told the Surface Transportation Board it opposes Metra’s request for a new connecting track in the community to offset possible negative impacts of the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger. In a letter filed […]

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Comment period begins for environmental report on Brightline West Cajon Pass project

Map of rail line between Victor Valley and Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has scheduled two online meetings as part of the public comment period for its environment assessment of the proposed Brightline West high speed rail line over Cajon Pass, released in late October. The meetings, to be held via Zoom on Saturday, Nov. 12, from 10 a.m. to noon PST […]

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BNSF near permission to replace Bismarck-Mandan bridge

BNSF train crossing river bridge in winter

BISMARCK, N.D. — BNSF Railway’s long-delayed effort to replace its aging bridge between Bismarck and Mandan, N.D., is on the verge of getting federal and state approval — but the preservation group that wants to save the structure is considering mounting a legal effort to stop demolition of the existing structure. The Bismarck Tribune reports […]

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