Start of expanded Altamont Corridor Express service pushed back

Map of expanded Altamont Corridor Express with service to Sacramento and communities south of Stockton

MODESTO, Calif. — Planned expansion of the Altamont Corridor Express commuter rail service into Stanislaus and Sacramento counties will be delayed by two years, with the first trains not running until 2026, the Modesto Bee reports. The San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission, which manages the service currently running between Stockton, Calif., and San Jose, attributes […]

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BNSF line in California closed by washout

BNSF Railway logo

WASCO, Calif. — BNSF’s main line on the Bakersfield Subdivision in the San Joaquin Valley has been closed by a washout, the railroad informed customers in an advisory on Saturday. The washout was reported about 1:30 p.m. PST near Wasco, about 27 miles northwest of Bakersfield. BNSF’s initial estimate to reopen the route between Bakersfield […]

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Amtrak to resume Adirondack service in April, U.S. senators say

Passenger train at station next to body of water

ALBANY, N.Y. — Amtrak’s long-idle New York-Montreal Adirondack service — the only train still not running after being suspended by the passenger operator at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — will resume operation in April, according to New York’s two U.S. senators. U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand made the announcement Friday afternoon, […]

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Amtrak seeks expansion of Crescent section to Dallas-Ft. Worth

Amtrak train at station

NEW ORLEANS — Amtrak will apply for a federal grant that, if approved by the Federal Railroad Administration, would pay for 80% of a study of track and station improvements necessary to extend a section of the New York-New Orleans Crescent between Meridian, Miss., and Fort Worth, Texas. Nicole Bucich, Amtrak’s vice president of network […]

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Amtrak set to start early work on B&P Tunnel project

Map detail showing MARC commuter stations around B&P Tunnel

BALTIMORE — Amtrak will begin early construction activity on the B&P Tunnel Replacement Program this Friday, March 10, with tie and rail replacement and track drainage work as part of its preparations for the $6 billion project. “This initial project will directly reduce impacts during later construction phases and maximize the benefits of the new […]

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Second Vancouver, B.C., Cascades round trip set to roll Monday

A non-powered Cascades cab unit trails Horizon coaches as the morning train for Seattle leaves Portland, Ore., on June 17, 2021. Bob Johnston

SEATTLE — Beginning Monday, March 6, Amtrak adds a morning departure from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Portland, Ore., and drops in a mid-afternoon northbound frequency from Portland that departs Seattle at 7 p.m. and arrives into the Canadian city at 11 p.m. Including the Seattle-Los Angeles Coast Starlight, this will increase the number of Seattle-Portland […]

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Lionel Legacy F40PH and ‘Cabbage’ control car

Lionel Legacy F40PH and Cabbage control car

The Lionel Legacy F40PH and ‘Cabbage’ control car represent a locomotive that’s become emblematic of intercity passenger service. In the 1970s, Amtrak was looking for some new power to replace some of its tired fleet. One of the models that came out of that process was this one. It served for two decades and still […]

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Cancellations, other operational issues plague Amtrak

Passenger train arrives as people on platform take pictures with phoone

CHICAGO — Amtrak says “forecasted inclement weather conditions” are prompting it to cancel the Southwest Chiefs departing Chicago and Los Angeles today (Feb. 28) and continue truncation of the California Zephyr as a Chicago-Salt Lake City train that began Monday. Meanwhile, more Amtrak locomotive failures, along with host railroad track problems and freight train interference, […]

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