Stadler hydrogen trainset makes debut in Florida

Front view of blue and white passenger train equipment

ORLANDO, Fla. — Stadler’s FLIRT H2 trainset, the hydrogen-powered commuter-rail equipment set to debut next year in Southern California, has made its first U.S. debut this week at the APTA Expo in Orlando, the American Public Transportation Association’s annual conference. The train will eventually join three Stadler FLIRT diesel multiple-unit trainsets on the San Bernardino […]

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Florida officials approve development district to support ‘Sunshine Corridor’ rail project

Locomotive with two bilevel passenger cars rounding curve

ORLANDO, Fla. — Officials in Orange County, Fla., have approved creation of a new special taxation district to help fund development of the “Sunshine Corridor” rail connection to allow Brightline and commuter rail service SunRail reach the Orange County Convention Center and nearby attractions. WKMG-TV reports county commissioners unanimously approved creation of the Shingle Creek […]

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Weekly U.S. rail traffic again shows increase

Weekly table showing U.S. carload traffic by commodity type, plus overall intermodal traffic

WASHINGTON — Weekly U.S. rail traffic continued its recent upward trend, with traffic for the week ending Oct. 7 showing a 3% increase over the same week in 2022, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. It was the fourth straight week traffic has been ahead of weekly figures of a year ago. […]

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Grand Canyon Railway No. 4960 concludes 2023 steam schedule

Silhouette of steam locomotive at the depot.

WILLIAMS, Ariz. — The 2023 steam schedule for Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel concluded on Oct. 9 with 2-8-2 No. 4960 making an appearance at the depot in Williams for the Employee Fall Festival. This comes after the final “First Saturday” steam excursion of the year to Grand Canyon National Park a couple of days […]

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Norfolk Southern lifts day-of-week restrictions on Midwest-West Coast international intermodal service

ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern this week ended restrictions on international intermodal service linking five of its Midwestern terminals with West Coast ports. “We are instituting this customer-centric, operations-driven solution for shipments originating at Appliance Park [Louisville, Ky.], Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, and Detroit, and we look forward to the positive impact these adjustments will have on […]

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Simplifying body-mounted couplers

MRRNS0720_01

Simplifying body-mounted couplers: Former editor Neil Besougloff used to accuse me of trying to convert all N scale modelers to using body-mounted couplers. He was joking – I think – but I’m not mounting such a campaign. For 90 percent of you, using truck-mounted, body-mounted, or a mix of both would make little difference. Your […]

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Canadian government to help fund new Port of Montreal container terminal

Aerial-view illustration of container terminal at port

CONTRECOEUR, Quebec — The Canadian government will spend up to C$150 million toward construction ofa new rail-served container terminal at the Port of Montreal, Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez announced on Tuesday. The project will include a 675-meter-long dock; a rail connection to existing Canadian National tracks, including a rail transfer point and freight transfer hub; […]

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