PETALUMA, Calif. – Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) is planning to use a budget increase to expand its commuter rail service and adjoining pathways. SMART plans to spend $110 million in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, up from the $77 million in this fiscal year. Most of the increase, $41.6 million, will be used for rail […]
DELAND, Fla. – Ground was broken Monday for a new SunRail commuter station in Deland. The station is part of SunRail’s Phase 2 Northern Expansion. Phase 2 will add 12.2 miles to the SunRail corridor, expanding service from the DeBary SunRail Station to the new DeLand Station, with a projected opening in the summer of […]
PHILADELPHIA – The National Railway Historical Society has announced a new program to recognize railroads for their efforts in railway preservation. The Society is partnering with Railway Age and Railway Track & Structures magazines to honor and recognize a North American common carrier railroad for a historically significant preservation project completed or put into operation within the last […]
LANSING, Mich. – Many states have attempted to address long delays at grade crossings by passing legislation to limit how long a train can hold up traffic. But the Michigan legislature is moving to adopt a different approach: eliminate the crossings altogether. The Michigan Senate has unanimously passed a bill that would create a permanent […]
NEW YORK—Amtrak has enlisted the STARR Restaurant Group to enhance food choices aboard its Acela first-class service between New York and Boston. STARR’s corporate umbrella covers 32 separately-branded restaurants representing a wide variety of cuisines. Of these, 19 are located in the Philadelphia area, which is home to the group. The remaining locations are in […]
SANDPOINT, Idaho — With BNSF Railway and Montana Rail Link trains now using the new 4,873-foot long Lake Pend Oreille bridge opened in late November 2022 outside Sandpoint, Idaho, the adjacent bridge opened by Northern Pacific in 1904 is undergoing reconstruction. BNSF says the work involves “replacing all 59 of the remaining original 1904 bridge […]
Another little piece of the Milwaukee Road is fading away in Tacoma, Wash. Tacoma Rail aka Tacoma Municipal Belt Line Railway consisted of three divisions. The Tidelands Division, the Mountain Division and the Capitol Division, now known as the Lakewood Division. The Capitol Division included lines in the Olympia, Wash., area and industries in South […]
STRASBURG, Pa. — Norfolk & Western steam locomotive No. 611 debuted for its 2023 operating season last weekend with a series of events and excursions on the Strasburg Rail Road. The J-class 4-8-4 returned to the tourist railroad earlier this month after spending the beginning of the year as an exhibit at the next-door Railroad […]
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – WATCO’s Alabama Southern Railroad will construct a new yard in Tuscaloosa. The company plans to invest around $9.8 million in a new yard facility in the Tuscaloosa County Airport Industrial Park to support operations currently conducted at the company’s facility near downtown Tuscaloosa. The second facility will provide additional capacity and reduce […]
MADISON, Mo. – A truck driver was killed Sunday after he failed to stop at a crossing and struck a Norfolk Southern rock train, causing it to derail, KCRG News reported. Russell Minnis, 65, of Higbee, Mo., was killed after his semi-truck did not stop at the U.S. Route 24 crossing 2 miles east of […]
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Legislature has approved a transportation measure that includes nearly $195 million in funding for the Northern Light Express passenger rail service from the Twin Cities to Duluth, Minn. If implemented, it would be the first passenger service to Duluth since Amtrak’s North Star was dropped in 1985. The 152-mile […]
NEW CANAAN, Conn. – The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT) will begin track work on the Metro-North Railroad New Canaan Branch May 30. The electrified 8-mile single-track branch carries 41 trains each weekday. Service includes several New Canaan-Grand Central Terminal through trains; others include New Canaan-Stamford shuttles, connecting with New Haven Line trains. CDOT owns […]
