Metra launches new real-time train tracking site

Metra train arrives at station platform in downtown Chicago

CHICAGO —Metra on Tuesday began the rollout of a new live train-tracking website which the Chicago-area commuter rail operator promises will allow riders to see the exact location of their trains and their station arrival times. The new site, metratracker.com, is made possible by a wholesale replacement of the previous train tracking system. It also […]

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Canadian government announces funding for Huron Central improvements

Huron Central Railway logo

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ontario — The Canadian government will invest up to C$10.5 million in infrastructure improvements on the Huron Central Railway, maintaining the railroad’s viability as a freight operator between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury, Ont., Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced Tuesday. The federal funds will be matched by equal figures from the government […]

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Reading & Northern sets freight, passenger records

Green and yellow locomotives lead freight train

PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Reading & Northern Railroad announced it set new records in 2022 for freight traffic and excursion passenger ridership. Revenue freight traffic rose over 4,000 carloads and the railroad carried over 250,000 passengers on its excursion trains. Reading & Northern, Pennsylvania’s largest privately-owned railroad, said the freight traffic increase was driven by […]

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Siemens working with Amtrak to resolve ALC42 locomotive issues

Blue and red locomotives on passenger train

CHICAGO — The Amtrak locomotives that sustained mid-route failures on the Empire Builder in December, stranding the eastbound train in rural Minnesota, are undergoing software and hardware modifications intended to prevent the problems from recurring. Responding to a Trains News Wire inquiry asking Amtrak why the Builder didn’t operate west of the Twin Cities for […]

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Minnesota city builds “railroad depot” water pump station

mock train station building

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. – It’s been decades since the last Chicago & North Western freight train rumbled through Eden Prairie on former Minneapolis & St. Louis tracks, and even longer since the M&StL depot stood along the right-of-way. Yet if you look along that right-of-way today, there’s a new “station” – a replica of a […]

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Southern California Railroad Museum to host night photo shoot

U25B No. 3100 calls Orange Empire Railway Museum home.

PERRIS, Calif. – The Southern California Railroad Museum, formerly known as the Orange Empire Railway Museum, is sponsoring a night photo shoot April 22. The event will run 6 to 10p.m. Space is limited to 25 photographers, and reservations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The photoshoot will use open flash photography and feature […]

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Grand Canyon Railway sets 2023 steam dates

Black steam locomotive pulling passenger train around curve

  WILLIAMS, Ariz. – The Grand Canyon Railway has announced dates it will operate 2-8-2 No. 4960 in 2023. The railroad typically uses the former Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad locomotive to pull trains between Williams and Grand Canyon one Saturday a month, plus some additional dates. The 2023 steam dates are: February 18 for […]

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Rainy weather delays effort to fix rail line to San Diego

Heavy equipment moving rocks along rail lline at beach as train waits in distance

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — A series of storms that have brought significant rain to California have slowed efforts to repair an unstable slope along the Surf Line in Orange County, pushing back efforts to restore through rail passenger service between Los Angeles and San Diego while also raising the cost of the repair effort. The […]

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Canadian government to require railroads to report more information on traffic, performance

Passenger and freight train meet at junction

OTTAWA — The Canadian government will require railroads to provide more detailed information on traffic and performance under amendments to Canada’s Transportation Information Regulations, Transport Canada announced on Monday, Jan. 9. The information, to be reported weekly, will be published on the government’s Transportation Data and Information Hub. The new rules take effect April 4, […]

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