VANCOUVER, Wash. — The 33-mile Chelatchie Prairie Railroad, owned by Clark County, Wash., and leased to two operators, will receive $4.7 million in state funding for line rehabilitation work, the Columbian newspaper reports. The first $1.5 million will improve the 14-mile section between Vancouver and Battle Ground, Wash., leased to the Portland Vancouver Junction Railroad, […]
OTTAWA — Transport Canada is now accepting applications for up to C$10.5 million in rail projects to be funded under the Climate Change and Adaptation to Extreme Weather Infrastructure Initiative, part of the Rail Safety Improvement Program. Applications are being accepted through Jan. 6, 2023; information the program and application process is available here. “We […]
The Budd Co. of Philadelphia introduced its self-propelled Rail Diesel Car in 1949. The RDC came in five versions with different arrangements of passenger, baggage, and mail compartments. Here, a train of Baltimore & Ohio Speedliners, as B&O called its RDC’s, is stopped at Cumberland, Md., during a westbound run in the early 1950s. B&O […]
AURORA, Colo. — A Regional Transportation District light rail train that derailed in September was going almost 40 miles an hour as it entered a 10-mph curve, according to a newly released report. The Sept. 21 accident in Aurora sent three people to the hospital, led to on-scene examination of more than 20 others, and […]
WASHINGTON AND MONTREAL — U.S. and Canadian national passenger rail operators are joining the Black Friday markdown blitz for travel beginning as early as next week and as late as June 30, 2023, depending upon the route. For both Amtrak and VIA Rail Canada, the deals are available only through Monday, Nov. 29, at midnight. […]
MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada will extend a pilot program using artificial intelligence to reduce fuel consumption, following a six-month trial that showed potential fuel savings of up to 15%. VIA, in a collaboration with Transport Canada and Innovative Solutions Canada Testing, originally started working with start-up company RailVision Analytics to test EcoRail software that […]
CALGARY, Alberta — The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train has launched its 2022 tour, making its first-ever visits to Maine earlier this week as well as stops in Lac-Megantic, Sherbrook, and Farnham, Quebec, on Thursday. It is the first time the train has run in three years, after the Holiday Train program offered online concerts in […]
The British government, now with its third Prime Minister in 12 weeks, has confirmed it will continue to fund several major rail (and road) investment programs, as well as new nuclear power plants. Opponents of both sets of projects had hoped the high price tag might tempt the government to make immediate spending cuts. New […]
Great Northern’s 1951 Empire Builder featured 44-seat, leg-rest coaches for long-haul travelers. Great Northern photo […]
Western Maryland 4-6-6-4 1203 rounds famous Helmstetter’s Curve west of Cumberland, Md., with a train for Connellsville, Pa., on May 15, 1953. Edward Theisinger photo […]
CHICAGO — Commuter operator Metra will add 18 trains — nine inbound and nine outbound — to its Union Pacific-West schedule on Monday, Dec., 5 while also adjusting to a “memory schedule” offering more consistent arrival and departure times in off-peak periods. Metra will make minor changes to its UP North schedule on the same […]
LOS ANGELES — A former Amtrak employee and her husband have pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges for conspiring to steal nearly $1 million in COVID-19-related unemployment insurance benefits, while she also fraudulently obtained more than $63,000 in sickness benefits while working at Amtrak. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced […]
