CHESTERTON, Ind. — The completion of the South Shore Line’s new West Lake Corridor branch will depend on construction of an underpass beneath CSX Transportation tracks, the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District board was told this week. Lakeshore Public Media reports NICTD President Mike Noland said at a Monday, Nov. 25, board meeting that the […]
KEARNY, N.J. — The first of three massive arches that are part of the new Portal North Bridge has arrived by barge and been lifted into place at the construction site on the Hackensack River, a significant advance in the project to replace the current structure, a long-time operational headache on the Northeast Corridor. Three […]
WASHINGTON — Jennifer Mitchell has been appointed as Amtrak’s executive vice president of strategy and planning, the company announced Tuesday (Nov. 26). Amtrak says Mitchell will be responsible for setting the company’s long-term strategic vision and managing planning, infrastructure access, state partner, network development, and host railroad duties. Her transportation career most recently includes serving […]
FARMINGTON, N.M. — Studies are in progress or will be launched for a proposed rail line to connect the Four Corners region of New Mexico to BNSF’s Southern Transcon main line, which would restore a rail connection to Farmington lost when the Denver & Rio Grande Western abandoned its narrow gauge line to the community […]
President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to impose 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada could have a chilling impact on cross-border rail traffic, which has been one of the few sources of volume growth for North American Class I railroads. Trump announced the plans last night in a social media post, saying that he […]
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has formed a second Presidential Emergency Board to address the dispute between NJ Transit and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. The three members of the board were announced by the White House on Nov. 21. The board now has 60 days to produce a report selecting the offer […]
ERWIN, Tenn. — A federal judge has denied a request for a temporary restraining order that would have stopped CSX repair work on the former Clinchfield Railroad line through the Nolichucky River gorge. WJHL-TV reports Judge Martin Reidinger of U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina said some developments since outdoor groups […]
For the 82nd year, CSX’s Santa Train made its journey over the former Clinchfield Railroad on Saturday, Nov. 23, traveling from Shelby, Ky., to Kingsport, Tenn., in an approximately 9-hour, 110-mile trip featuring a dozen intermediate stops in which Santa Claus and volunteers distributed gifts to those visiting the train at trackside. The train, operating […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — Transit agency Trinity Metro has ordered four more FLIRT diesel multiple-unit trainsets for its TEXRail commuter rail service, Stadler announced. Delivery is expected in 2027. The new equipment will join the existing fleet of eight FLIRT (Fast Light Intercity and Regional Train) trainsets in operation since 2019 on the 27.2-mile, nine-station […]
WASHINGTON — Norfolk Southern’s proposed abandonment of the Saluda Grade in North and South Carolina will not need to undergo an environmental impact statement process, the Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Environmental Assessment has determined in a decision released today (Monday, Nov. 25). The railroad filed for abandonment of 31.3 miles of the long-dormant route […]
MONTREAL — Members of Canadian labor union Unifor have voted to authorize a strike against Canadian National Railway if a new contract agreement is not reached by Jan. 1, 2025. Unifor said in a press release that members of the two groups representing CN workers — Council 4000 and Local 100 — had voted 97% […]
NEW YORK — If current Class I railroad volume growth efforts don’t bear fruit, railroads will either have to turn to transcontinental mergers or try to shrink themselves to prosperity. That’s the conclusion Oliver Wyman consultant Adriene Bailey has reached after examining trends of declining traffic and anemic revenue growth as railroads continue to lose […]
