GERMANTOWN, Tenn. — The driver of the truck was killed and a Norfolk Southern train derailed after the train hit a garbage truck at a grade crossing on Thursday. 40-year-old Marco Brooks of Memphis died after being airlifted to Regional One Hospital in critical conditions, the Germantown Police department told WATN-TV News. Fourteen cars of […]
A Metra BNSF train pulls into the Aurora station from the adjacent yard prior to a departure for Chicago on May 25, 2019. Communities in two counties want to see the BNSF route extended to serve them, but any such expansion is unlikely in the near future. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — Representatives from two […]
Each week, the editors of Trains bring you a round-up of rail news you can use. This week, editors discuss Union Pacific Big Boy’s Midwest tour, commodity declines in the U.S., and new Amtrak Acelas being built. […]
ST. LOUIS — Amtrak has partially restored Missouri River Runner service between St. Louis and Kansas City, beginning operation of one daily round trip as of this morning. The morning departure in each direction — Train No. 311, which leaves St. Louis at 9:15 a.m., and train No. 314, an 8:15 a.m. departure from Kansas […]
A side-on view of an Alstom-built Acela power car under construction at Alstom’s shops in Hornell, N.Y. Amtrak NEW YORK – Amtrak’s new, state-of-the-art, high-speed Acela trainsets, which will redefine the customer experience on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor when they enter service on the Northeast Corridor in 2021, are making significant progress in their construction at […]
ST. LOUIS — The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded a $28.8 million grant for repairs of a key railroad bridge in St. Louis. The grant to the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis is one of 45 rail projects receiving Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements grants, as announced Tuesday. [See “FRA awards $326 million […]
BOSTON — The head of the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority says the agency will seeks an outside review of its operations in the wake of two light-rail derailments in a four-day span and four so far in 2019. The Associated Press reports that MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak wants “a fresh set of eyes” to […]
CHICAGO – Metra may receive as much as $1.6 billion in state bond revenue for capital improvements over the next five years under legislation recently approved by the Illinois General Assembly, agency officials say. That number is far below the amount Metra had hoped for, but the commuter rail agency’s board members expressed gratitude to legislators […]
SAN FRANCISCO — The Transbay Transit Center, closed since last September, will reopen July 1 — but not, initially, for its primary use as a bus terminal. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the $2.2-billion transit facility, which closed just six weeks after its August 2018 opening because of cracks in two major steel support […]
Union Pacific OMAHA, Neb. — The Big Boy No. 4014 is headed back out on the Union Pacific system beginning July 8 for a tour, taking it through Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Called the Great Race Across the Midwest, the tour will include displays at the following locations: • July 13-14: Omaha, […]
ERIE, Pa. — Locomotive builders in Erie are working today knowing they don’t have to worry about contract talks for another four years. United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America locals 506 and 618 voted on final contract terms with Wabtec that keeps the former GE Transportation locomotive plant in Lawrence Park, Pa., flush […]
A power car at Alstom’s plant in Hornell, N.Y., shows the swooping lines of the next generation of Acela equipment. Bob Johnston Another power car, with its outer skin not yet installed, shows elements of the crash energy management system. Bob Johnston Carbody shells are made of aluminum and fabricated in Italy, which required a […]
