DOT agency issues safety directives to MBTA

Rapid-transit train at station. Governor reacts following more close calls on MBTA.

Passengers are seen leaving a Boston Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Orange Line platform. Today, the MBTA received further directives from the Federal Transit Administration regarding additional safety measures to be implemented by the commuter railroad. The MBTA has suffered a number of safety related incidents in recent months that have drawn attention from federal regulators. […]

Read More…

Santa Fe No. 3751 steams for Fullerton event

steam locomotive and Amtrak engine pulling train

FULLERTON, Calif. — Santa Fe steam locomotive No. 3751 will return to operation for the first time since 2017 when it travels from its home base in Los Angeles to appear at Amtrak’s Track Safety Community Event, scheduled for Sept. 24 and 25 at the Fullerton Transportation Center. The 4-8-4 is owned by the San […]

Read More…

And the survey says: Rail workers overwhelmingly unhappy with contract recommendations and support a strike

RENO, Nev. – Rank-and-file members of railroad labor unions are disappointed with the Presidential Emergency Board’s contract recommendations and overwhelmingly support a strike, according to an online survey conducted by Railroad Workers United. Nearly 83% of those surveyed said the PEB’s recommendations fell short of their expectations. Nearly 8% expressed neutral sentiments, while the remaining […]

Read More…

Trouble on the Transcon

Earlier this month, Trains drove alongside BNSF Railway’s Southern Transcon from Barstow, Calif., to Belen, N.M., to see how North America’s busiest freight railroad and intermodal corridor is faring amid the crew shortages that have affected operations. BNSF’s California and Southwest divisions have been among the hardest hit in the country as the big four […]

Read More…

Transport Canada proposes Southwest Ontario passenger rail study

Passenger train on multi-track main line

WINDSOR, Ontario — Admitting that the government’s focus so far has been on corridor rail improvements east of Toronto, Canada’s transport minister announced Tuesday his agency will explore options to “improve passenger rail frequencies, on-time performance, and shorten travel times in Southwestern Ontario.” Minister Omar Alghabra said Transport Canada “will seek an external advisor, who […]

Read More…

Long Island Rail Road opens second section of Third Track project

Electric multiple-unit passenger train on three-track main line

MINEOLA, N.Y. — The second section of the Long Island Railroad’s Third Track project is now in operation. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced the 2.5-mile segment between the Merillon Avenue station in Garden City Park and the Mineola station began handling trains on Tuesday, Aug. 30. This joins the 3-mile, Queens Village-Merillion Avenue portion of […]

Read More…

PRR steam engine operating at Williams Grove

Small steam locomotive with two open-air cars and caboose

GRANTHAM, Pa. — With steam-locomotive giants like Western Maryland Scenic 2-6-6-2 engine No. 1309 and Reading & Northern Class T-1 4-8-4 engine No. 2102 grabbing all the attention in the East this year, one historic steam operation in the region is flying under the radar — as it usually does. And it’s in the midst […]

Read More…

The Trains Interview: Preservation priorities

Man standing in front of two steam locomotives

World events the past two years have kept people from doing what they enjoy. Communities have endured a near-two-year-long pandemic and are navigating the highest inflation in 40 years. Conflict overseas is rattling economies and threatening financial stability. Such events underscore the need for  rail preservation groups, who rely on those to share in their […]

Read More…

Caltrain electrification substation is energized

Red and white bilevel commuter train cars round curve

SAN JOSE, Calif. — One of the two major power substations for the Caltrain electrification project has been energized for the first time, a milestone that will allow testing of equipment at Caltrain’s San Jose facility and on a portion of the San Jose-San Francisco corridor. The Caltrain Traction Power Substation in San Jose was […]

Read More…

Another Amtrak employee files suit over Chief derailment

Amtrak logo.

KEYTESVILLE, Mo. — A Hemet, Calif., man has become at least the third Amtrak employee to file suit against the passenger carrier over the June derailment of the Southwest Chief. KMIZ-TV reports Matthew Rafferty has filed suit against Amtrak and MS Contracting, owner of the truck that was hit at a grade crossing, derailing the […]

Read More…