Amtrak aims to add routes, frequencies; raise speeds in Pennsylvania

Amtrak plans to add three short-haul routes in Pennsylvania and double both Keystone Service and Pennsylvanian train frequencies, Amtrak President Stephen Gardner told Gov. Tom Wolf and other public officials in a recent online roundtable talk about the company’s ConnectsUS 15-year regional corridor vision. The three routes are: New York City-Scranton, Pa., 136 miles via […]

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Amtrak’s New York tunnels withstand Ida’s deluge

NEW YORK — Despite more than 7 inches of rain that shut down New York’s subway system late Wednesday, the Amtrak tunnels connecting the Northeast Corridor to Manhattan survived tropical storm Ida without the debilitating damage that occurred as a result of 2012’s Superstorm Sandy. But other damage and power outages caused cancellation of all […]

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Investigation determines rail failure caused 2019 CP derailment

EDMONTON, Alberta — An undetected rail defect led to a Canadian Pacific derailment in September 2019 that saw petroleum products spill from three tank cars, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has determined. The Sept. 27, 2019 derailment near Blackfalds, Alberta — approximately 8.4 miles north of Red Deer and 88 miles south of Edmonton […]

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Coast Starlight to resume full-route operation Aug. 23 (corrected)

OAKLAND, Calif. — Amtrak will resume operation of the Coast Starlight over its full Seattle-Los Angeles route, beginning with departures from both endpoints on Monday, Aug. 23, following completion of bridge work between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, Calif. However, the train’s sleeping-car inventory currently remains limited for more than a month after its […]

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Big Boy Hot Spot: Dexter, Mo.

BIG BOY HOT SPOT Location If you’re for Union Pacific Big Boy Hot Spot this summer, don’t miss the Dexter, Missouri, community. Dexter is situated in the rural southeast corner of Missouri in Stoddard County, about halfway between St. Louis and Memphis. It is surrounded by fertile soil, vast row-crop farmland, and straight, high speed […]

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Company service

Company service Texas Electric Utilities E25B No. 2304, southbound with coal for Monticello, Texas, in May 1984, represents the first generation of motive power on the power plant railroad. Alex Mayes photo […]

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Influential congressman opposes CSX acquisition of Pan Am Railways

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, has told federal regulators that he opposes CSX Transportation’s proposed acquisition of New England regional Pan Am Railways. “Considering the repercussions that would result from CSX Transportation’s purchase of Pan Am Railways and its impact on my district, along with my […]

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Northeast Corridor Commission releases $117 billion infrastructure plan

WASHINGTON — The commission that helps fund Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor operations today released a sweeping blueprint that sets goals for passenger rail service improvements over the next 15 years, and the infrastructure investments and funding it estimates will be necessary to implement them. On the surface, “Connect NEC 2035,” or “C35,” might be viewed as […]

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