San Francisco kicks off 150th cable car anniversary

A San Francisco cable car in a street.

SAN FRANCISCO – This weekend sees the launch of a civic celebration to mark 150 years of cable car service in San Francisco. Scotsman Andrew S. Hallidie, an experienced maker of wire rope (steel cable), employed his expertise to construct a cable car on Clay Street in San Francisco, with the first run on August […]

Read More…

Sound Transit receives US DOT loans

Light rail train on bridge

SEATTLE – The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced that its Build America Bureau will provide $327 million in low-interest loans to Sound Transit for improvements to its system. By providing Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) and Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing (RRIF) loans the Bureau helps expedite infrastructure projects and reduce project […]

Read More…

Mexico invites CPKC to participate in rail projects

CPKC logo

MEXICO CITY – Mexico is seeking to incorporate Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) into three projects, Business News Americas reported. After a meeting between Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, U.S. officials, and CPKC executives in Mexico City, the government said it invited CPKC to participate in the 932-mile Maya train that will connect five states […]

Read More…

BNSF resumes freight service on Surf Line

BNSF Railway logo

 SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. ­– ­BNSF Railway has resumed freight service on the ex-Santa Fe “Surf Line” between Los Angeles and San Diego past the site of a landslide in San Clemente, the Los Angeles Times reported. BNSF began running two to four trains a day through the area at speeds of 10 to 15 mph, […]

Read More…

At CN, holding for tonnage is out; running to schedule is in

CHICAGO — Canadian National executives on Wednesday dissected the long-train strategy that the railway has cast aside in favor of an operating plan where sticking to schedule is gospel. “The plan is sacred” was a phrase CN officials used multiple times during the railway’s investor day presentations. “You have this phrase around here … ‘the […]

Read More…

Twitter changes policy for transit updates, other public notifications

Electric multiple-unit commuter train at junction

NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says it is “assessing its options” regarding Twitter use after the social media site announced it would reverse a policy charging public agencies for automated warning such as transit status updates. The MTA said last week that it had stopped using Twitter for status updates because “the reliability […]

Read More…

Rail regulation bill advances in Pennsylvania legislature

The pennsylvania state seal

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A bill seeking to introduce a broad range of rail regulations in the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment easily advanced out of a Pennsylvania House committee on Wednesday, despite concerns voiced by some members that the matter is one for federal, not state, action. PennLive.com reports that House Bill 1028 […]

Read More…

April rail traffic remains below 2022 levels

Intermodal train passing brick passenger station

WASHINGTON — U.S. freight rail traffic in April was down 6% from the same month in 2022, a slight improvement over the previous month, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. Traffic for the week ending April 29 was also down compared to a year earlier, showing a drop of 4.9% The figures […]

Read More…