CSX touts Pan Am merger as STB questions competitive aspects of deal

Side-by-side photos of less- and more-maintained yard tracks

WASHINGTON — CSX Transportation executives touted their proposed acquisition of Pan Am Railways during a daylong Surface Transportation Board hearing Thursday, saying their deal to acquire the New England regional will significantly improve freight and passenger service. But board members questioned several aspects of the merger, including concerns surrounding the Pan Am Southern and CSX’s projections […]

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Two Mount Vernon, N.Y., bridges over Metro-North fail inspection

Commuter train passes under steel bridge

MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. — Two bridges over the Metro-North Railroad in Mount Vernon have failed inspections, resulting in vehicles being banned from one of the structures. The problem comes after the fourth of four rebuilt bridges in the community was reopened last year. A Jan. 9 inspection of the Fulton Avenue Bridge “uncovered serious issues […]

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Metrorail 7000-series cars to be sidelined at least 90 days more

WMATA (DC Metro) logo

WASHINGTON — DC Metrorail’s 7000-series cars will remain sidelined for at least 90 days as experts seek the root cause of a problem with wheelsets that has kept the Kawasaki-built rapid transit equipment out of service since October. The website DCist reports Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority General Manager Paul Wiedefeld provided the update on […]

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NJ Transit receives $1.6 billion in ‘Rescue Plan’ funding

NJ Transit logo

WASHINGTON — NJ Transit will receive $1.6 billion in federal funding under the American Rescue Plan signed into law in spring 2021, U.S. Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker (both D-N.J.) announced. The money will allow the transit agency to keep workers on the payroll and maintain bus and rail service. “I’m proud to have […]

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Maryland Purple light rail line will cost $1.4 billion more to finish

White interior of light rail car with purple seats

BALTIMORE – Maryland’s Purple Light Rail Line would begin carrying passengers in the Washington suburbs over four years late and cost an additional $1.4 billion to build under a proposed contract to complete the project, Maryland transportation officials said this week. The state’s cost of a broader agreement for a private concessionaire to build, operate, and […]

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Amtrak unveils Operation Lifesaver locomotive

Alt text yellow and black locomotive on tracks near station

WASHINGTON — Amtrak today unveiled a specially painted P42DC to mark the 50th Anniversary of Operation Lifesaver. P4DC No. 203, repainted with the message, “See Tracks? Think Train!” was released into service today during a ceremony at Washington Union Station. The black-and-yellow locomotive commemorates the 50th anniversary of Operation Lifesaver, the nonprofit organization dedicated to […]

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NS, museum team up to save Southern Railway Kentucky storehouse

LUDLOW, Ky. – Norfolk Southern and the Ludlow Heritage Museum have signed a lease agreement to preserve the NS-owned former Southern Railway Ludlow Yard Store House building, the last remaining original structure in Ludlow used by the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific Railway, which was leased to Southern in 1894. The agreement allows museum […]

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NJ Transit awards contracts for Newark, Trenton station projects

NJ Transit logo

NEWARK, N.J. – NJ Transit has awarded contracts for two station renovation projects in Newark and Trenton. In Newark, the agency has approved an all-inclusive professional services contract to perform master planning, design services, and construction support services as part of a long-term project for the restoration and renovation of Newark Penn Station. NJ Transit’s […]

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Amtrak, PennDOT open new Keystone Corridor station at Middletown, Pa.

Passenger train led by cab car at new station

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — After delays of more than a dozen years, Amtrak and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation on Monday (Jan. 10) opened a $24.5 million station at Middletown, on the passenger railroad’s Keystone Corridor. With a population of about 9,500 people, Middletown stands 10 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg, the western […]

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Reading & Northern touts freight, excursion growth in 2021

Green and yellow locomotives on train of hopper cars

PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Reading & Northern set records for freight revenue, freight traffic, and excursion passenger ridership in 2021, the railroad reported. Freight revenues increased by 10% over 2020 and pre-pandemic levels, boosted by increased traffic and a traffic mix with more higher-revenue moves. The company also saw significant revenue from its warehouse and […]

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