BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Birmingham Rail & Locomotive has acquired Ohio’s Austintown Rail Supply, a manufacturer of track products. Birmingham will retain Austintown’s 10 employees and expects to add more to support a rail crane facility at the Austintown, Ohio, site, AL.com reports. Birmingham Rail & Locomotive supplies new and reconditioned rail and other rail materials […]
Zone & Region: Midwest
Metra board OKs engineering study for extension of BNSF service NEWSWIRE
An inbound Metra BNSF train stops at the Route 59 station in Aurora, Ill. Metra’s board has approved spending $4.7 million in federal funds to study extension of the BNSF line beyond Aurora into Kendall County, Ill. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — A longstanding effort to extend Metra’s BNSF line service beyond Aurora, Ill., west […]
Twin Cities light rail line to end 24-hour weekday service NEWSWIRE
MINNEAPOLIS — Metro Transit will end around-the-clock service on one light rail line, the agency announced Friday, after five years of 24-hour operation. Beginning in August, the Green Line will shut down from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. on weekdays, while continuing 24-hour service on weekends, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. That will leave only LA […]
Wisconsin, Illinois still want more ‘Hiawatha’ trips NEWSWIRE
Northbound Amtrak Hiawatha No. 333 passes Tower A20 in Glenview, Ill., on May 18, 2019. This is where Canadian Pacific trains enter and leave the Chicago-Milwaukee main line via the tracks at right to reach the railroad’s Bensenville Yard. Bob Johnston A southbound Hiawatha passes Metra’s Glen of North Glenview station in January 2019. Plans […]
Report: Illinois governor’s infrastructure plan to include $2.9 billion for Metra parent NEWSWIRE
CHICAGO — Chicago’s Regional Transportation Authority would receive almost $2.9 billion in funding under an infrastructure plan set to be unveiled by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the Chicago Tribune reports. Those funds would be part of a total of $41.5 billion in a six-year plan to be introduced by Pritzker and paid for in part through […]
Metra to offer summer kids-ride-free program NEWSWIRE
CHICAGO — Metra has announced a summer expansion of its Family Fares program, with up to three children ages 11 and under able to ride free with one paying adult from Memorial Day through Labor Day. “A trip on Metra is a great opportunity to spend time together as a family without having to worry […]
Metra to boost service on BNSF, add summer weekend runs on 2 lines NEWSWIRE
CHICAGO – Metra will schedule a new train during morning and evening rushes on its busy BNSF Line to address overcrowding issues that developed as a result of positive train control implementation, CEO and Executive Director Jim Derwinski says. Both trains will be included in a new BNSF Line schedule to be unveiled in June, […]
UP aims to begin triple-tracking near Geneva, Ill., in spring 2020 NEWSWIRE
Metra Train No. 25 arrives at Geneva, Ill., on May 7, 2019. Union Pacific hopes to begin triple-tracking this section of main line in the spring of 2020. TRAINS: David Lassen GENEVA, Ill. — Union Pacific is aiming to begin the triple-tracking of a section of its main line through Geneva in the spring of […]
Illinois DOT bows to opposition on sidings for Hiawatha expansion
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Bowing to opposition from the communities of Glenview and Lake Forest, the Illinois Department of Transportation will no longer support plans for two sidings that are part of a plan to increase Amtrak Hiawatha service between Chicago and Milwaukee. Patch.com reports that acting IDOT Secretary Omer Osman said in a letter, released […]
CN-CP Chicago interchange dispute heads to mediation NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board has ordered Canadian National and Canadian Pacific to participate in board-sponsored mediation to solve their Chicago interchange dispute. The Canadian railroads have been unable to reach an agreement on how to share the costs of moving their Chicago interchange. CN aimed to move the interchange from Spaulding in Bartlett, […]
Metra chairman: Public transportation needs more private partners NEWSWIRE
CHICAGO – Metra and other public transportation agencies are being confronted with funding needs that government cannot satisfy and more private investment is needed if these agencies are to survive, the head of Chicago’s commuter rail agency says. Norman Carlson, the chairman of Metra’s board, says that if transportation agencies like his are to be […]
Indiana Transportation Museum equipment auction scheduled NEWSWIRE
A selection of the items listed for auction in June. NOBLESVILLE, Ind. – The city of Noblesville will auction 36 pieces of rolling stock from the Indiana Transportation Museum collection in June. The city has hired Ozark Mountain Railcar to dispose of these items, which were not picked up by other organizations during last year’s […]
