An inbound Metra Milwaukee West train departs National Street station in Elgin. Metra will run a bus bridge from the National Street and Elgin stations on Saturday as it places a new bridge in service. TRAINS: David Lassen ELGIN, Ill. — Metra will move service on its Milwaukee District West line onto a new bridge […]
Type of Train: Passenger/Transit
Montreal plans free transit to address closure of Mount Royal tunnel
MONTREAL — With the approaching two-year closure of the Mount Royal tunnel, a key commuter rail route, Montreal transit and traffic planners are making plans to offset the resulting issues and warning commuters to do the same. On Monday, they announced free transit in an effort to minimize the number of displaced rail commuters who […]
Seattle cancels streetcar contract NEWSWIRE
SEATTLE — The Seattle Department of Transportation said Monday it is cancelling a contract to buy new streetcars for the proposed Center City Connector line, but it still plans to go ahead with construction of the line through downtown. In an announcement on its website, SDOT said it had informed manufacturer CAF USA that it […]
World’s oldest, largest cable car returns to the hills of San Francisco NEWSWIRE
No. 19 on a Sept. 8 test run. San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency SAN FRANCISCO – The world’s oldest and largest operating cable car entered revenue service for the first time in 77 years this past weekend in San Francisco. Sacramento-Clay Line cable car No. 19 – also known as “Big 19” – ran on […]
Hearing calls for preservation of commuter rail service into West Virginia NEWSWIRE
CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — An overflow crowd turned out at a Saturday hearing to call for preserving MARC commuter train service into West Virginia, which faces a significant reduction because funding from West Virginia that short of what the Maryland Department of Transportation says is required. The Martinsburg (W.Va.) Journal reports that the crowd filled […]
Proposed ban on Chinese railcars gets White House support NEWSWIRE
Chinese manufacturer CRRC displays models of its various types of rail equipment at InnoTrans in 2016. The White House says it supports a ban on purchases of transit equipment by Chinese manufacturers. TRAINS: David Lassen WASHINGTON — Bipartisan legislation that would prohibit the use of federal funds to buy transit vehicles from state-owned Chinese manufacturers […]
Sound Transit seeks public opinion on commuter train improvements NEWSWIRE
A Sounder commuter train arrives in Lakewood, Wash., in June 2018. Sound Transit is considering improvements for its service to Lakewood including additional trains or extending the line further south. TRAINS: David Lassen SEATTLE — Sound Transit is planning a series of community “drop-in sessions” to consider how it might spend almost a billion dollars […]
Before lot opens, two-thirds of suburb’s premium commuter parking spaces have sold NEWSWIRE
More than two-thirds of the premium parking spaces at Barrington’s Metra station have been sold in advance of the new premium lot’s opening. TRAINS: David Lassen BARRINGTON, Ill. — More than two-thirds of the spaces in a new premium parking lot for the Barrington Metra station have been sold in advance of the lot’s opening […]
First rail laid on Maryland’s Purple Line light rail NEWSWIRE
LANHAM, Md. — The first section of rail has been laid on a 16-mile light rail project connection New Carrollton and Bethesda, Md. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan was among officials taking part in the first-rail ceremony Thursday for the Purple Line, WTOP Radio reports. Construction began two years ago on the $5.6-billion project. Its 21-station […]
Japanese commuter train crashed despite advance warning of truck on tracks NEWSWIRE
YOKOHAMA, Japan — A warning light alerted the driver of a Japanese commuter train that there was an obstacle in the train’s path, but he was unable to stop in time to avoid hitting a produce truck at a grade crossing. The driver of the truck was killed, a rare fatal rail accident for Japan. [See […]
Cascades crash civil trial begins in Washington state NEWSWIRE
SEATTLE — In what’s believed to be the first suit stemming from the December 2017 derailment of an Amtrak Cascades passenger train to go to trial, three of those injured in the wreck are seeking damages in federal court in Tacoma, Wash. The trial, which began Tuesday, Sept. 3, and is tentatively scheduled for eight […]
Construction on LA Metro Gold Line extension to begin in 2020 NEWSWIRE
An LA Metro train to Union Station stops at Azusa, a 50-minute ride away on the Foothill Gold Line. Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority An artist’s rendering of the future San Dimas station on the new Foothill Gold Line extension to Pomona, due to open in 2025. Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority Part of an […]