Metra releases draft budget, new strategic plan

Commuter train arrives at station on curve

CHICAGO — Commuter rail operator Metra has released a proposed 2023 operating budget of $980 million that includes several options for continuing to discount monthly passes and simplifying other aspects of its fare structure, as well as plans for more than $500 million in capital spending. The agency is also soliciting comment on a newly […]

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Canadian government announces steps to streamline shipping regulations

Locomotive moving cars of containers with ship and dock in background

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Canadian government on Thursday announced a series of steps to streamline shipping regulations and improve use of digital information in Canada’s supply chain, moves Transport Minister Omar Alghabra described as “a first step toward addressing recommendations by the National Supply Chain task force.” The moves announced Thursday, backed by a government […]

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Cleanup continues after shortline derailment in Idaho

String of derailed freight cars

TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Cleanup continued Thursday after about a dozen cars of an Eastern Idaho Railroad derailed Wednesday night, KMTV reports. No injuries or hazardous-materials situation were reported as a result of the accident, which blocked Hankins Road in the southern Idaho community. The Eastern Idaho Railroad, a Watco property, operates 385 route-miles in […]

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STB establishes office to probe Amtrak delays on host railroads (updated)

Amtrak train reaches grade crossing

WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board has created a passenger rail office that will be responsible for investigating and analyzing Amtrak on-time performance on host railroads. The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 authorizes the STB to investigate the causes of substandard passenger rail on-time performance, to identify mitigating measures, and, under specified […]

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BNSF ordered to pay $228 million in suit over fingerprint data

BNSF Railway logo

CHICAGO — BNSF Railway has been ordered to pay $228 million in a federal class-action lawsuit after a jury found that the railroad violated Illinois state law by collecting employee fingerprints without prior consent. The decision is the first in a case involving the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act, the first law passed by a […]

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‘Friar Tuck’ and the East Broad Top

Smiling gray-haired man in tan hooded sweatshirt

ROBERTSDALE, Pa. – “Little more, little more . . . Mush, you huskies! Ho!” With that chant, Gene Tucker urged his four-man volunteer crew at the narrow gauge East Broad Top Railroad to squeeze a 60-pound rail into alignment just enough to slip a J-shaped “hook bar” into place to force the track gauge back […]

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OmniTRAX finalizes deal for San Luis & Rio Grande

Locomotive at station

DENVER — OmniTRAX has completed an agreement to purchase the assets of the bankrupt San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad, which will become the company’s 26th short line. Bankruptcy trustee William Brandt had said last month that the company had signed an agreement in principle to purchase the 155-mile Colorado railroad, a former Denver & […]

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Reading & Northern 4-8-4 repaired, set for next excursion

Steam locomotive passes through town under cloudy skies

PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Reading & Northern Railroad’s Class T-1 4-8-4 steam locomotive is repaired and ready to pull a sold-out Oct. 29 excursion after a malfunctioning component in its firebox sidelined it during a trip on Saturday, Oct. 8. After a six-year, $2.4 million restoration, the former Reading Co. engine has been performing flawlessly […]

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Carload Considerations: Railcars should make shippers’ lives easier

Freight train snaking through curves in mountains

CHICAGO – Railroading’s intricacies require shippers to get involved in the industry’s nitty-gritty details. A half-hour crash course on Railroading 101 is going to leave someone more confused than confident. It takes commitment to grasp, and predict, the vulnerabilities of railroad logistics. This is why shippers often employ individuals in rail logistics, fleet management, or […]

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CN, IBEW finalize new contract in Canada after arbitration

Canadian National logo

MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway announced Tuesday that it had reached a new three-year agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Canada after concluding arbitration with the union. The new contract, retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year and running through the end of 2024, includes 3% raises each year. The union represents […]

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ENSCO to test Stadler equipment at Pueblo facility

Illustration of diesel multiple unit trainset

SPRINGFIELD, Va. — ENSCO Rail will conduct operational testing on new Stadler diesel multiple-unit trainsets at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colo., ENSCO has announced. The new trainsets are being built for Dallas Area Rapid Transit for its Silver Line (also known as the Cotton Belt Corridor), a 26-mile rail line from DFW Airport […]

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