ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Commuter rail operator Virginia Railway Express will contribute almost $195 million to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s purchase of rail right-of-way from CSX Transportation as part the effort for long-term expansion of passenger service. VRE announced Wednesday it would contribute $119.2 million from the proceeds of a bond sale that closed on June […]
Zone & Region: Northeast
Three unions ratify new contracts with Canadian Pacific subsidiaries
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Three unions have ratified new contracts with Canadian Pacific subsidiaries in the U.S. and eastern Canada, the railroad has announced. The agreements cover a total of about 430 employees on the Central Maine & Quebec in Canada (represented by United Steel Workers Local 1976), the CM&Q in the U.S. (represented by the SMART […]
New signals at Halethorpe
Baltimore & Ohio P-7 Pacific 5305 passes through the interlocking at Halethorpe, Md., as semaphore signals are being replaced by color position light signals. Warren E. Olt photo […]
Pennsylvania says it has reached agreement with NS on improvements for Pittsburgh-Harrisburg route
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The state of Pennsylvania says it has reached a deal with Norfolk Southern on a previously announced plan to upgrade infrastructure between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, which would allow a second daily Amtrak train between those cities. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the $200 million deal will be finalized by the end of the […]
New York-Toronto ‘Maple Leaf’ resumes operation
NEW YORK — Amtrak’s Maple Leaf has resumed service to and from Toronto, marking the first cross-border rail service to be resumed since pandemic-related cuts in 2020. Amtrak announced this morning that the northbound Maple Leaf, operated in conjunction with VIA Rail Canada, would operate to Toronto today (Monday, June 27) with the first southbound […]
MBTA restores service on two subway lines
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority restored service on two subway lines Sunday evening, ending a shutdown over structural concerns about a downtown Boston parking garage above the subway tunnels. The agency said in a statement the move to restore full service on the Green and Orange lines followed “a comprehensive inspection of the […]
Four arrested for alleged Amtrak health-care fraud
NEWARK, N.J. — Four people have been arrested and charged for their roles in a health-care fraud scheme that resulted in Amtrak paying at least $9 million in medical claims to those associated with the scheme. A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey says Muhammad Mirza, 50, of […]
MBTA halts service on two subway lines over structural concerns
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has suspended some service on its Orange and Green Line subway lines in downtown Boston after the discovery of what the agency termed “a structural issue” with a parking garage being demolished. The MBTA said in a Thursday press release that the company demolishing the Government Center Parking […]
Amtrak awards preliminary design contract for Penn Station expansion
NEW YORK — Amtrak has awarded a contract to engineering, design, and consulting firm Arup to begin preliminary design for expansion of New York’s Penn Station. The contract, announced Thursday and awarded in partnership with NJ Transit and coordination with New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, will allow design work to begin for new tracks, platforms, […]
So long, Ma & Pa
On Aug. 5, 1958, the last Maryland & Pennsylvania train from Baltimore heads north across the trestle at Sharon, Md., shortly before the road abandoned the south half of its 77-mile line between Baltimore & York, Pa. Lawrence W. Sagle photo […]
Historic ex-PRR high trestle at Safe Harbor opens to public
SAFE HARBOR, Pa. — Where electric-powered freight trains once rumbled high above the Susquehanna River en route between the East Coast and Midwest, hikers, bikers, and runners now catch breathtaking views of soaring bald eagles from the 150-foot-high Safe Harbor trestle. Opened earlier this month to public use as part of the planned 29-mile-long Enola […]
MBTA pulls newest cars from service over battery issue
BOSTON — In the latest setback for its newest rapid-transit equipment, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has pulled its new Orange and Red Line cars from service after what officials called a “battery failure” on one of the cars. Meanwhile, the agency — hit last week by a series of directives from the Federal Transit […]