CEO of Germany’s Deutsche Bahn says company needs more than $170 billion for modernization

Train in glass-walled station

BERLIN — The CEO of German national railway Deutsche Bahn says the company needs some €150 billion ($170.5 billion) to upgrade and expand its rail network. CEO Richard Lutz, in an interview with the news site T-online on Friday, April 18, said that €80 billion ($91 billion) would be used to address repairs and upgrades […]

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As Canadian election nears, Liberals’ platform renews support for high-speed rail

Via Rail Canada locomotive no. 6433

OTTAWA, Ontario — Expansion of high-speed rail in Ontario and Quebec, infrastructure projects to support trade, and efforts to simplify approval for major construction are part of the party platform released Saturday (April 20) by Canada’s Liberal Party and Prime Minister Mark Carney. Saying Canadian sovereignty is “under threat,” the platform calls for nearly Ca$130 […]

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Lexington Group establishes H. Roger Grant Award for railroad history book

Man with two stacks of books

The Lexington Group for Transportation History has announced the establishment of the H. Roger Grant Award for outstanding scholarship in railroad history. The $5,000 award, made possible through support of Julia Grant in honor of her father, Roger, will honor the best book, published by an academic or trade press, on the subject of railroad […]

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News Wire Recommended Reading: High speed rail, transit safety

Brightline train

Here’s your latest installment of News Wire Recommended Reading, articles available online which Trains readers may find of interest: — The New York Times ran a pair of articles on high-speed rail earlier this month, the first on the various projects under consideration in the U.S. (which quotes, among others, Trains correspondent Bob Johnston), and […]

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Moving ‘Silver Splendor’ to Conway Scenic

Glass-domed silver passenger rail car named Rhonda Lee in rocky hillside

  I have a personal connection with a Budd-built Vista-Dome. In November 2018, my old friend and President and co-owner of New Hampshire’s Conway Scenic Railroad, Dave Swirk, called me, “Would you like to join me on a big adventure?” Before I realized what I was getting into, I said “Yes.” The railroad had just […]

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New York’s Delaware & Ulster announces return of operations

Alco locomotive with Delaware & Hudson paint scheme pulling tourist passenger train

ARKVILLE, N.Y. — The Delaware & Ulster Railroad, a heritage rail operation that last ran in 2019, has announced plans to resume operation beginning in May. “The railroad is heading in a new direction literally and figuratively,” Todd Pascarella, executive director of the Catskills Revialization Corp., the nonprofit organization that operates the railroad, said in […]

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Former Keolis official sentenced in $8.5 million fraud case

U.S. Department of Justice seal

BOSTON — A former official at Keolis Commuter Services, contract operator of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter trains, has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for defrauding Keolis of more than $8.5 million and the Internal Revenue Service of more than $2.6 million. John P. Pigsley, 59, was sentenced on Thursday, April […]

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SP steam engine, long displayed in Fresno, Calif., to be relocated

Black and white photo of 0-6-0 steam engine

FRESNO, Calif. — A Southern Pacific steam locomotive on display in a Fresno park for almost 70 years is about to receive a new home. SP No. 1238, a class S-10 Baldwin 0-6-0 built in 1918, is slated to be moved from Fresno’s Roeding Park to the city of Kingsburg, about 24 miles to the […]

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U.S. railroads may benefit from some changes to proposed port fees on Chinese ships

WASHINGTON – In what’s likely to be a mixed bag for railroads, the U.S. Trade Representative yesterday watered down its plans to impose steep fees on Chinese ships that call on American ports. The U.S. Trade Representative modified many of the fees that were proposed in February but had received widespread criticism from importers, exporters, […]

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Rocky Mountain Railroad Club to merge into Colorado Railroad Museum

Narrow guage steam engine

GOLDEN, Colo. — The Rocky Mountain Railroad Club will merge with the Colorado Railroad Museum, the two organizations have announced, allowing the efforts of the club to continue even as it disbands after 87 years. “This merger will formally end the work of the Rocky Club, but our goal is to nurture the continuation of […]

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Posner, Iowa Interstate honored at short line conference

Three people outside private car

DENVER — The Hall of Fame induction of Iowa Interstate Railroad Chairman Henry Posner III highlighted the railroad’s week at the recent American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association conference in Denver, which also saw Iowa Interstate recognized with two major awards. Posner was inducted into the Short Line Railroad Industry Hall of Fame, along […]

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Oregon transit agency Tri-Met warns of potential service cuts

White light rail train at station

PORTLAND, Ore. — Add the Portland area’s Tri-Met to the list of transit agencies warning of dire consequences without an increase in funding. The agency is warning that it could face a 15% cut in service beginning in 2027, with additional 5% cuts every two years after that, unless its funding is boosted. The agency […]

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