FRA look at Amtrak long-distance service yields wealth of data

People lined up to board bilevel passenger cars

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has published a surprisingly detailed summary of regional forums held during the past month in which the agency solicited opinions regarding the public’s interest in strengthening Amtrak’s national network. As part of Amtrak’s reauthorization, 2021’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act tasked the FRA to conduct a study that would […]

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Weather leads to cancellations for Southwest Chief, Empire Builder

Passenger train leaves rooster tail of snow as it runs on three-track main line

CHICAGO — Weather is taking its toll on current operations of Amtrak’s western long-distance trains. According to the Amtrak Alerts Twitter feed, the eastbound Chief scheduled to depart Los Angeles today (Wednesday, Feb. 22) has been cancelled due to severe weather conditions, while the westbound Chief that left Chicago on Tuesday, Feb. 21, will terminate […]

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Empire Builder encountered track defect before fatal Montana derailment

Still from locomotive on-board camera, with red square higlighting track defect

WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s Empire Builder ran through a track misalignment in a curve — distinctly visible in a still from the lead locomotive’s onboard camera — just before its September 2021 derailment in Joplin, Mont., according to information contained in more than 3,100 pages of documents released Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board. The […]

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Amtrak named to Forbes list of America’s Best Large Employers

Passenger train on middle of three tracks during snowfall

WASHINGTON — Amtrak has been named as one of America’s Best Large Employers in a Forbes survey, which identifies the top 500 companies with 5,000 or more employees. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with 15,722 employees, topped the Forbes list. The ranking is based on a survey of about 45,000 workers at such companies, who […]

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Full passenger service to San Diego not expected until April

Amtrak passenger train moves along tracks on coastal bluff in light fog.

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Costs and delays continue to increase for the work to restore daily passenger service between Los Angeles and San Diego. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports weekday service is now not expected to resume until sometime in April, while the cost to stabilize a hillside in San Clemente has risen to at […]

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Altoona museum adds PRR baggage car to K4s restoration project

Maintenance-of-way car is lifted by crane for move by truck

ALTOONA, Pa. — The Railroaders Memorial Museum has acquired a former Pennsylvania Railroad baggage car for use in a planned exhibit train to accompany K4s No. 1361, currently undergoing restoration. In a post on its Facebook page, the museum reports the car — a model B60b baggage car built in the 1920s — was donated […]

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Ohio to pursue funding to study Amtrak expansion

Map showing current and possible passenger rail routes in Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has directed the Ohio Rail Development Commission to apply for federal funding to study adding Amtrak service on two corridors serving the state, the commission announced. The commission will seek $500,000 from the Federal Railroad Administration for studies of each corridor, a Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati route, and Cleveland-Toledo-Detroit service. Those […]

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