UPDATE: Amtrak CEO says passenger trains will not run over track without PTC or PTC waiver NEWSWIRE

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Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson Amtrak WASHINGTON — If railroads that host Amtrak passenger trains fail to meet Congress’ statutory requirement to have positive train control installed Dec. 31, 2018, Amtrak’s president says the company will drop service on lines that don’t comply. The move would significantly disrupt passenger service on virtually every Amtrak route in […]

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NTSB interviews engineer of Amtrak Cascades train No. 501 NEWSWIRE

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The remains of Amtrak Cascades train No. 501 in December 2017. Steve Carter WASHINGTON — As part of its ongoing investigation into the Dec. 18, 2017, derailment of an Amtrak passenger train in DuPont, Washington, the National Transportation Safety Board released Thursday an update about the agency’s investigation. NTSB investigators interviewed the engineer and the […]

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‘Pacific Surfliner’ consists expanded again NEWSWIRE

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A Pacific Surfliner hugs the beach at Carpinteria, Calif., in 2013 Bob Johnston LOS ANGELES — Amtrak and the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency continue to expand the capacity of Pacific Surfliner service in response to the closure of U.S. Route 101, which severed the direct highway connection between Santa Barbara, Calif., and the rest of […]

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Amtrak permanently retiring Pacific Parlour Cars NEWSWIRE

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Amtrak’s Seattle-to-Los Angeles Coast Starlight crosses a trestle at Goleta, Calif. Pacific Parlour cars used in the train’s consist will soon be removed from Amtrak service. Bob Johnston The Pacific Parlour Cars, which were built by Pullman-Standard for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway as hi-level lounge cars and have been a regular part […]

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Making your rail mileage count

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An NS 21st Century Steam excursion adds to the mileage totals for riders at Williamstown, Ky., in May 2014. Two photos, Robert S. McGonigal Railroads are all about places – where the rails go to transport freight and passengers. In the 1920s, the “Index of Railroad Stations” at the back of each edition of The […]

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First look at the Amfleet I coach fleet refresh NEWSWIRE

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The interior of a newly refurbished Amfleet 1 coach. Ralph Spielman NEW YORK – For Amtrak’s 450-odd, 40-something-year-old Amfleet I passenger car fleet, the Budd-built cars are newsworthy yet again, and the news is passenger comfort. The new interior redesign brings the 21st century to the Northeast and the Midwest. Trains News Wire recently toured […]

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‘Amtrak Cascades’ train derails onto Washington highway

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This overall view shows cars off both sides of the tracks at the Interstate 5 bridge near DuPont, Wash. Two photos, Steve Carter SEATTLE – Several people are dead after a southbound Amtrak Cascades train derailed on an overpass above Interstate 5 near Olympia. Although several motorists were injured when the train fell off the […]

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