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PRINCETON, Ill. — Amtrak marked the 75th anniversary of the launch of the California Zephyr today (Tuesday, March 19) with ceremonies in Chicago, Princeton, and Galesburg, Ill., as well as onboard today’s westbound departure from Chicago. In Princeton, at least 50 people were on hand when the train arrived to sing “Happy Anniversary” for the […]
DEL MAR, Calif. — Construction will begin this month on a three-year, $78 million project to stabilize the Del Mar Bluffs along the Surf Line rail line, the Times of San Diego reports. The segment along the Pacific Ocean has long been a source of erosion and occasional line closures on the route used by […]
WASHINGTON — Parties in the settlement intended to lead to the start of Gulf Coast passenger service said in a status report to the Surface Transportation Board that negotiations between Amtrak and the city of Mobile for a lease of downtown city land “are continuing to move forward.” The report filed Friday by Amtrak, Norfolk […]
Amtrak GP7 diesel locomotives served for decades in supporting roles for America’s passenger carrier throughout its network. Electro-Motive Division produced the 1,500-hp, four-axle GP7 from 1946 through 1958, making a total of 2,729 units, including five cabless B units, for more than 40 railroads. By the time Amtrak needed more support motive power […]
Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, stretching between Washington, D.C. and Boston, Mass., is one of the heaviest trafficked passenger railroads in the United States. Owned by Amtrak, and operated under electric catenary, the Northeast Corridor is America’s high-speed rail mainline. Travel along with Trains.com as we go trackside in Connecticut and Rhode Island to view a parade […]
WASHINGTON — Projects in Illinois, Louisiana, and North Carolina have received a total of $900,000 in planning and development funding under the Federal Railroad Administration’s Interstate Rail Compacts grant program, the FRA announced today (Thursday, March 14). Compacts are agreements between two or more states to support development of intercity passenger rail services that can […]
ORANGE, Calif. — The Orange County Transportation Authority is considering a proposal to build a $200 million, half-mile-long wall along the Surf Line right-of-way to address slide issues that have repeatedly closed the rail route since 2021 — but the city of San Clemente has reservations about the idea. Meanwhile, work continues on the temporary […]
NEWINGTON, Conn. — Small but long-running adjustments to Amtrak and CTrail schedules on the CTrail Hartford Line will begin Monday, March 18, to accommodate Amtrak’s Continuous Welded Rail project, the Connecticut Department of Transportation has announced. The schedule changes, which will see some schedules adjusted by as much as 12 minutes, will continue through late […]
CHICAGO — Upgrading speeds and capacity or simply keeping tracks well-maintained for passenger trains has tradeoffs that often compromise a rail corridor’s ability to provide meaningful mobility while the work is going on. An example will occur in Michigan beginning May 6, when Amtrak and the state of Michigan jointly made the decision to suspend […]
WASHINGTON — When the Surface Transportation Board names the members of its first Rail Passenger Advisory Committee, it will be worth remembering that the competition for places among the panels 18 voting members was fiercer for some seats than for others. As outlined in the January call for nominations, the panel has a very specific […]
LONGMONT, Colo. — Using the idle equipment from Amtrak’s Winter Park Express, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, state legislators, and local officials rode an inspection train from Denver to Longmont today (Thursday, March 7). The 44-mile, 90-minute trip used the BNSF Railway route via Boulder that is proposed for passenger service that would continue north to […]
CHICAGO — Beginning today (Wednesday, March 6) Amtrak’s westbound California Zephyr will depart Chicago for California for the first time the Feb. 27 departure encountered freight congestion and weather obstacles that resulted in arrival into Emeryville, Calif., 10 hours, 35 minutes late. Those cars and locomotives, stranded for more than a week at Amtrak’s Oakland […]
