As 2026 begins, and with Trains’ top railroading story of 2025 announced on the final day of the just-completed year, we today a look back at the top stories in our previous annual countdowns. This year’s pick, the planned Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger, was a rare unanimous choice among our voters. And while it’s impossible to […]
Nine years after Amtrak inked a $2.45 billion contract with Alstom, builder of France’s TGV, to build 28 trainsets in the U.S., the new equipment debuted on Aug. 27 with a media trip from Washington Union Station to Boston’s South Station. Beginning the next day, the five Next Generation trainsets that had been accepted began […]
Blaring locomotive horns announce the presence of four new passenger trains every day at most of the 170 grade crossings on the 144 miles between New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal and a temporary platform at Mobile, Ala. Two daily Amtrak Mardi Gras round trips have been running since Aug. 18, days after throngs turned out […]
Comings and goings are a natural part of any industry. People retire, move to better jobs, or are told their services are no longer needed. But three moves in the latter category particularly raised eyebrows in railroading in 2025: The resignation of Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner, the firing of Surface Transportation Board member Robert Primus, […]
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Amtrak has turned down a private company’s proposal for a transcontinental passenger train that would have included an auto-carrying feature. WPMT-TV reports that Amtrak said in a statement that it reviewed the proposal from AmeriStarRail and “found it to be lacking a fundamental business case to support its lofty proposal.” Earlier this […]
Bachmann HO Amtrak Acela II set Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Set, $799; separate-sale Business Class cars, $139 each Manufacturer: Bachmann Industries Inc., 1400 E. Erie Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19124; 215-533-1600; shop.bachmanntrains.com Bachmann HO Amtrak Acela II set features: One powered direct-current locomotive with working, directional light-emitting-diode headlights and marker lights; operating ditch lights and number […]
Amtrak intercity trains carried more travelers at higher prices in 2025 than in previous years, but the company managed to set those records with a depleted, aging passenger car fleet, accompanied by numerous mechanical failures that caused lengthy delays and train cancellations. Here’s a review of key passenger news. Some topics will be examined in […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak could face problems in operating its NextGen Acela and Airo trainsets because some new maintenance facilities will not be completed in time, the Amtrak Office of Inspector General says in a new report issued today (Dec. 22). According to the report, if current schedules for those facilities hold, Amtrak will only be […]
DENVER — With Gov. Jared Polis on hand for the departure, Amtrak’s Winter Park Express launched its 2025-26 season on Friday, Dec. 19. It was the first of 57 scheduled trips for the ski train through March 29. The train is operating three days a week for its first three weekends — Dec. 19-21, Dec. […]
WASHINGTON — The Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger application filed with the Surface Transportation Board on Friday attempts to explain away adverse effects on passenger trains by vague promises of future “targeted infrastructure enhancements,” but generally doesn’t outline what those might be. In one case, a combined UP-NS proposes adding nine daily freights to a single-track […]
WASHINGTON — Improvement of communications with project partners and within the company could help Amtrak reduce risks in its role in the $16 billion Hudson Tunnel Project, as could better management of project documents, the Amtrak Office of Inspector General says in a report issued today (Dec. 17). The report did find that the company […]
CHICAGO — With temperatures hovering around zero over the weekend of Dec. 12-14, most Amtrak trains were able to leave Chicago on time, but a number were delayed more than two hours at their points of origin, while others had to contend with disabled freight trains. Meanwhile, service resumed through areas flooded earlier in the […]
