Northstar commuter service MINNEAPOLIS — Twin Cities Metro Transit began operation of additional commuter trains between Minneapolis and Big Lake, Minn., on Oct. 2. The service was decimated by the pandemic — before it struck Northstar operated five trips in each direction weekdays and three in each direction on weekends. As the pandemic waned the […]
Delaware & Raritan River Railroad FARMINGDALE, N.J. — The Delaware & Raritan River Railroad has completed its “F&S Connection,” a 5-mile track rehabilitation project between Freehold and Farmingdale, through Howell, N.J. The project was finished nine months ahead of schedule. DRR ran a test train over the rebuilt track on Sept. 15, 2023, marking the […]
WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board has extended by 15 days the comment period for its proposed reciprocal switching rule. The Association of American Railroads had sought a 90-day extension for comment on the rule, officially dubbed Reciprocal Switching for Inadequate Service. The rule, proposed last month, would provide rail customers with access to a […]
WASHINGTON — Emergency inspections following last week’s derailment of a DC Metrorail train found 32 railcars with bolts that are loose, or at least not as tight as required, the Washington Post reports. A Metrorail 7000-series train derailed Friday after striking an object later determined to be a brake disc from a previous train. That […]
HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. — The effort to turn the former Saluda Grade into a hiking and biking trail has received an additional boost with $12 million in funding from the state of North Carolina, the Spartanburg (S.C.) Herald-Journal reports. The North Carolina state budget approved Sept. 22 includes that funding over a two-year period toward purchase […]
INDIANAPOLIS — The Iowa Traction Railway has received the inaugural “Outstanding Railroad Historic Preservation Award,” presented Monday at the opening day of Railway Interchange by the National Railway Historical Society in conjunction with the magazines Railway Age and Railway Track & Structures. The award honors a North American common-carrier railroad for a historically significant preservation […]
WASHINGTON – The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been awarded up to $5,000,000 by the Federal Railroad Administration to establish the National University Rail Center of Excellence. The Center would be dedicated to developing a future railroad workforce while advancing research to enhance the safety, efficiency, and reliability of passenger and freight rail transportation. […]
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – The Dominican Republic government has announced it will build a new rail line from Santo Domingo to the popular tourist destination Punta Cana, Resumen Turismo reported. Other lines will link several coastal settlements on the island’s Southeastern coast. The Santo Domingo – Punta Cana section will be the first constructed […]
DULUTH, Minn. – The North Shore Scenic Railroad resumed service Sept. 29, quickly recovering from washouts that closed the railroad’s route to Two Harbors, Minn., for several days. Northeast Minnesota saw record rainfall the weekend of Sept. 23-24, with the town of Knife River on NSSR receiving 7.6 inches of rain in less that 8 […]
The estate of noted western rail photographer Ronald C. Hill has made a financial contribution totaling a little more than $1 million to the Center for Railroad Photography & Art, which is based in Madison, Wis. The gift is directed to the CRP&A Endowment Fund. “We’re over the moon and feeling tremendously grateful and humbled […]
WASHINGTON – Federal regulators have issued a 626-page draft environmental assessment for Savage Tooele Railroad’s proposed 11-mile Utah spur project. The Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis will accept public comment on the draft report through Oct. 30. Savage Tooele proposes connecting the Lakeview Business Park in Grantsville, Utah, with Union Pacific’s Shafter Subdivision […]
WASHINGTON – The Federal Railroad Administration issued two safety advisories last week: One covering crossing gates and another regarding the operation of track maintenance machines. The grade crossing advisory notes that crossing gates attached using a king pin system could fail suddenly. King pin assemblies came into use in the early 1990s as railroads shifted […]
