From Auto-Train to Amtrak Auto Train Today’s Auto Train is a stellar option for people looking to travel long distances with their car in tow between northern Virginia and central Florida. Amtrak’s marketing slogan on its website is “Take Your Car on an Auto Train Road Trip.” Those traveling in sleeping cars receive traditional dining-car […]
DENVER — The Colorado Department of Transportation isn’t prepared to start shopping for passenger trains just yet, but it’s at least ready to look at brochures. The state DOT on Friday issued a “request for information” for rolling stock for possible passenger service between Denver and Craig, Colo., and has asked manufacturers and vendors to […]
LONDON — A safety dispute between British rail regulators and the operator of summer steam trains through the West Highlands of Scotland threatens to prevent the trains — now internationally famous — from running next year. The trains in question gained their fame as the “Harry Potter Train,” as the route – and especially the curved […]
MONTREAL — Canada’s largest private-sector union has blasted VIA Rail Canada’s new baggage policy, a complex set of fees which were set to take effect Nov. 18, saying they “inconvenience travelers and complicate [union members’] working conditions.” VIA, however, says it had elected to waive the fees a week prior to their implementation, and the […]
One of Amtrak’s retired HHP8 electric locomotives, with both pantographs removed, is being tested for possible use as a cab car. Amtrak is reportedly looking to bolster or replace its aging fleet of ex-Metroliner cab cars in the Northeast until Siemens’ new Amtrak Airo equipment arrives. The 15 Bombardier-Alstom locomotives, delivered in 2001, were plagued […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration has announced $343 million is available in fiscal 2024 for accessibility improvements at rail transit stations under the FTA’s All Stations Accessibility Program. The program, funded for a total of $1.75 bililion through fiscal 2026 under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, supports upgrades to subway, light rail, and commuter rail […]
RICHMOND, Va. — Amtrak projects that it will surpass pre-pandemic figures for ridership and revenue in 2024, company officials said Friday as executives joined the board of directors for the company’s second annual public meeting, an event mandated by 2021’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law held this year at Richmond’s Main Street Station. This year’s gathering was […]
RICHMOND, Va. — Harking back to Amtrak’s yearly “National Train Day” events, the heads of various Amtrak departments and leaders of state passenger rail programs on Friday utilized the spacious halls of Richmond’s Main Street Station to explain capital investment, training, operations, and future goals. The “expo” was held in connection with Amtrak’s annual public […]
Outreach is the name of the game for any organization in rail preservation looking to remain relevant. For Kristen Fredriksen, who serves as the Manager of Public Programs and Outreach at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Washington as well as being a board member of the HeritageRail Alliance, it’s about the storytelling and evoking nostalgia […]
Amtrak’s most unusual train Dirk Nadon is a New Hampshire radio magnate who owns Lakes Media. He and I have worked together developing radio promotions for the Conway Scenic Railroad. At one point he said to me, “You’ll like this! A few years ago, I took this great train ride called the Auto Train — […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific is touting service improvements in an update to customers. “We know that delivering consistent and reliable service is what you expect, and we continue to make improvements to our service product. I’m pleased with the progress that we have sustained over the past few months,” Kenny Rocker, executive vice president […]
MADRID — The King of Spain, King Felipe VI, and his top government ministers have officially opened a new railway line linking the northern province of Asturias to the rest of the Spanish high-speed network, traveling on Nov. 29 in a specially operated high speed train between Madrid and Gijon on the northern coast of […]
