STUART, Fla. — The city of Stuart, Fla., will receive a $130.5 million federal Mega Grant to help fund replacement of the Florida East Coast Railway/Brightline bridge over the St. Lucie River, a bottleneck for rail operations and a point of friction between the rail operators and the local marine industry. The TC Palm newspaper […]
Section: News Wire
With two key Mexico rail gateways shut down, cross-border freight begins stacking up (updated)
WASHINGTON — The temporary shutdown of the U.S.-Mexico railroad border crossings at Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, has thrown a kink into supply chains that demand reliability. Eagle Pass and El Paso are the No. 2 and No. 3 rail gateways by volume, respectively. Union Pacific says the closure has prompted it to place […]
Fort Lauderdale officials set to meet on bridge-or-tunnel dispute for rail line
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Fort Lauderdale’s fight over whether to build a $500 million bridge or a $3 billion tunnel to handle rail traffic through downtown could heat up further on Tuesday, as city officials meet to vote on their preferred option — after the city’s mayor sent out an email newsletter to voters saying […]
Bill introduced in Parliament to give VIA trains right of preference
OTTAWA, Ontario — A member of Canada’s Parliament from British Columbia has introduced a bill to create a right of preference for passenger trains on the nation’s railroads — the lack of which has long hampered VIA Rail Canada operations. Taylor Bachrach, a House of Commons member of the New Democratic Party from the riding […]
Sound Transit to switch to flat-fee fares for light rail
SEATTLE — Sound Transit’s light rail system will begin charging a flat fare of $3 next fall for rides anywhere on the system under a plan approved Friday by the transit agency’s board. Riders currently pay fares ranging from $2.25 to $3.50 based on distance, with the majority paying $2.75 or less, the Seattle Times […]
NTSB to end ‘Most Wanted List’ for safety issues
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board is retiring its “Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements,” a method the agency has used since 1990 to call attention to safety issues. “The Most Wanted List has served the NTSB well as an advocacy tool, especially in the days before social media, but our advocacy efforts […]
Two U.S.-Mexico rail crossings in Texas to be shut down because of migrant surge
EL PASO, Texas — U.S. officials are halting freight train operations across the U.S.-Mexico border at two locations because of a surge in migrant traffic, the El Paso Times reports. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency will temporarily suspend the freight crossings at Eagle Pass and El Paso — the No. 2 and No. […]
One crew member hurt as UP train derails after grade crossing collision
WEATHERFORD, Texas — One crew member suffered what were reported to be minor injuries after a Union Pacific train derailed after hitting a truck hauling an oversized load at a grade crossing today (Sunday, Dec. 17), the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. Two engines and 17 cars of the train derailed in the incident about 9:30 […]
SEPTA, police officers reach tentative agreement, ending strike
PHILADELPHIA — Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority police returned to work Saturday afternoon, Dec. 16, after reaching a tentative contract agreement with the transit agency, ending a strike that began on Wednesday, Dec. 13. Members of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 109 and SEPTA’s board must still ratify the agreement; no information on the […]
Long delays, late trains mark start of Maya Train service
CANCÚN, Mexico — Long delays and unfinished facilities marked the first day of regular operations of Mexico’s Maya Train Saturday, a day after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador inaugurated the service with a trip on the 298-mile initial segment between Campeche and Cancun. The Associated Press reports departure delays of up to 5 hours for […]
Metrolink, Amtrak prepare for four-day shutdown of tracks at LA Union Station
LOS ANGELES — Commuter rail operator Metrolink has offered more details on its upcoming four-day service shutdown to accommodate major track and signal work at Los Angeles Union Station, and has developed a list of transit options for riders during the rail outage set for Dec. 26-29. The work at Union Station will also affect […]
New equipment, new routes, new operators: European overnight trains expand
New train fleets and new long-distance overnight services are highlights of the annual European timetable change which took place Dec. 10. The growth of the night-train network — after decades of relative decline from the 1980s to around a decade ago — is largely due to the growth in demand for sustainable travel, with many […]