FTA sends a dozen corrective plans back to MBTA for revisions

Subway train at station

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority must resubmit a dozen corrective action plans to address Federal Transit Administration safety directives after the FTA asked for revisions to those plans, the Boston Herald reports. To date, the FTA has only received approval for eight of the 20 plans stemming from directives issued by the FTA […]

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BLET ratifies four-year contract with Long Island Rail Road

Commuter train with diesel locomotive and four bilevel cars on three-track main line

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has decisively ratified a new contract with the Long Island Rail Road, with 84.97% of votes cast in favor of the agreement. Almost 74% of those eligible voted on the contract, the union said in announcing the agreement on Wednesday, Dec. 7. The four-year agreement […]

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MARTA shuts down streetcar line over wheel issues

Light rail vehicle rounding curve with brick church in background

ATLANTA — The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority has shut down its 3-mile-long downtown streetcar line after inspections found wheel degradation that could pose a safety risk, WSB-TV reports. Reporter Newspapers, citing a paywalled Atlanta Journal-Constitution report, says repairs are expected to cost $7.4 million and are expected to be completed by the end of […]

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Opening of Tacoma light rail project to be delayed

Tacoma_Streetcar_Lassen

TACOMA, Wash. — Opening of the Hilltop Extension of Sound Transit’s Tacoma light rail line will be delayed for a second time, the agency said Thursday, pushing opening of the 2.4-mile addition close to a year behind schedule. The Urbanist website says the project had originally been scheduled to open in May 2022, but had […]

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CTrail, Amtrak Hartford Line schedules return to normal

Black and red locomotive leads short passenger train

HARTFORD, Conn. — CTrail and Amtrak service on the Hartford Line will see schedule changes as of Monday, Dec. 12, with completion of second-stage work on the line’s rail replacement project, the Connecticut Department of Transportation has announced. Work in Meriden, and between Berlin and Hartford, had led to schedule adjustments of up to 35 […]

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Illinois Central upside-down fruit pudding

Two guys baking

Illinois Central upside-down fruit pudding Trains LIVE — 12-7-2022 — “The experienced Illinois Central traveler knew to pass up ice cream and other more common desserts if this treat was on the menu,” says James Porterfield in his book Dining by Rail. This is Trains LIVE — Illinois Central upside-down fruit pudding. We are cooking on […]

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Daughter of rail artist Ted Rose speaks

Trains Live image of two people

Daughter of rail artist Ted Rose speaks: There is no doubt that Ted Rose ranks in the upper echelons of railroad artists. Rose, born in Milwaukee in 1940, rendered hundreds of watercolor paintings and monotypes during his career. Sadly, he passed in 2002, however, the artistic legacy he left behind gives us the opportunity to […]

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CSX and UP adopt kinder, gentler attendance policies for rail labor

Man throwing switch as train with blue and yellow locomotive waits

CSX Transportation and Union Pacific have relaxed their attendance policies in response to labor concerns. “Today we announced changes to the company’s attendance policy in order to provide CSX employees more flexibility and to respond to concerns expressed by craft employees and labor organizations. The new policy is applicable to all craft employees and is […]

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