Dallas City Council approves $1.7 billion ‘D2’ subway project The Dallas City Council has approved building a new light rail route through downtown including a subway section with three underground stations. WFAA-TV reports the council also said it would support Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s effort to obtain an $800 million Federal Transit Administration grant to […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Anticipating rail travel demand comes with dual challenges: incur costs running trains with initial low patronage, or risk not providing enough options to build revenue and transportation relevance. Amtrak will begin restoring daily departures for its long-distance trains in late May, after receiving directives and $1.7 billion from Congress [see “As Amtrak […]
Judge grants Cascades train 501 engineer partial summary judgment in suit against Amtrak A judge in Washington state has ruled that Amtrak is strictly liable for the fatal 2017 derailment of an Amtrak Cascades train in DuPont, Wash., meaning a trial later this year over a claim by the train’s engineer will only be to […]
NEW YORK — The Long Island Rail Road has posted new timetables effective March 29, as well as improved technology to help riders know about seat availability on trains. The timetables announced Wednesday restore the weekday levels of service that had been in place Jan. 25 through March 5. The railroad reduced weekday service as […]
Fires disrupt service on Northeast Corridor, Hartford Line Amtrak service on the Northeast Corridor between New York and Boston has been disrupted this morning by fire department activity earlier this morning in Providence, R.I., that has affected overhead power lines. WJAR-TV reports a locomotive fire on an MBTA train in one of the underground approaches […]
Rio Grande Alco PA 6013 revs up out of Littleton, Colo., with the Denver-bound Royal Gorge on May 18, 1967. David Ingles […]
Car weight may be a factor in derailments by new MBTA subway cars The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s new Orange Line subway cars have derailed six times near Wellington Station in Medford, Mass., since the first new cars entered service, and their weight may be a factor. New England Cable News reports five of those […]
Tank car of molasses explodes in Minnesota, damaging building An explosion of a tank car full of molasses on Tuesday morning in Cannon Falls, Minn., spewed the sticky substance as far as a mile and a half from the site of the incident. RiverTowns.net reports the Cannon Falls Fire Department received a call about an […]
It’s important to mount couplers at the correct height and to do so consistently on all cars. Because of their length, passenger cars magnify the chance for unwanted uncouplings when track isn’t perfectly level. Of course, having made the car height accurate, I don’t want to change that, so to adjust coupler height I move […]
Department of Justice in talks with California to settle suit over funds withheld from high speed rail project The U.S. Department of Justice is in talks with California to settle a lawsuit resulting from the Trump administration’s cancellation of a $929 million grant for the state’s high speed rail project. Reuters reports the Justice Department […]
Competing Shore Shore station plans for South Bend, Ind., face growing costs Competing plans to build a new South Shore Line station in South Bend, Ind. — one envisioning a downtown station, another for a relocated stop to replace the current terminus at the South Bend airport — have stalled several years after being floated, […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s 826-page petition to the Surface Transportation Board, filed last week, is the latest salvo in efforts to establish passenger trains on routes of railroads not currently hosting service. The STB’s eventual decision could have a significant impact on what investment is required for service expansion. The filing argues Amtrak has made good […]
