TORONTO — VIA Rail Canada’s Canadian is notorious for delays. But a trip this week from Toronto to Vancouver is proving to be spectacularly late, even by VIA standards. The CBC reports that as of Thursday afternoon, the westbound Canadian was some 45 hours behind schedule, after leaving Toronto 26 hours late. While VIA has […]
Type of Train: Passenger/Transit
Metra offers kids free rides during summer NEWSWIRE
Rebuilt F40PHM-2 No. 200 leads an outbound Metra BNSF train through Highlands in Hinsdale, Ill., on April 28, 2018. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — Metra has announced a kids-ride-free program through the summer months, with up to three children ages 11 and under able to ride free with an adult from Memorial Day through Labor […]
Book Review: Brian Solomon’s Railway Guide to Europe
Brian Solomon’s Railway Guide to Europe By Brian Solomon Kalmbach Publishing Co.; 416 pages, softcover, 6 x 9 inches; $24.99. www.kalmbachhobbystore.com Reviewed by Bill Hough Planning a rail-oriented trip to Europe is challenging, since most travel guidebooks are written for a general audience and don’t necessarily contain specific information that a railfan would like to […]
Delaware-Lackawanna celebrates 25 years with a special train NEWSWIRE
Business car No. 2 rests at Scranton after the special 25th anniversary trip for the Delaware-Lackawanna short line. The car is in front of the former Delaware Lackawanna & Western station that is now a hotel. Greg McDonnell SCRANTON, Pa. — Comfortably seated on a traditional folding wooden chair on the rear platform of a […]
Former Amtrak president questions motives of current management NEWSWIRE
Joe Boardman stands with passenger rail supporters in Raton, N.M., in 2014. Bob Johnston ROME, N.Y. – “I’ve seen enough. I’ve heard enough,” explains former Amtrak President Joseph Boardman. Trains News Wire asked Boardman what prompted an email he sent early Tuesday and subsequently forwarded to elected officials throughout the country. “This is beyond common […]
Amtrak ‘City of New Orleans’ gets a new stop NEWSWIRE
MARKS, Miss. – Effective this weekend, Amtrak City of New Orleans trains will stop daily at a new station in Marks, Miss., on the Chicago-New Orleans route made famous in a song by Steve Goodman and recorded by Arlo Guthrie and many others. Service in both directions is effective tomorrow, May 5, with a ribbon-cutting […]
California to fund improvements for ‘San Joaquins’, ACE, ‘Pacific Surfliner’ NEWSWIRE
A southbound Pacific Surfliner nears the end of its trip to San Diego on Jan. 6, 2016. TRAINS: David Lassen SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The state of California has announced grants to help improve and expand passenger rail service to Sacramento, and on Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service between San Diego and San Luis Obispo, Calif. The Valley […]
Amtrak to eliminate 15 station agents on long-distance routes NEWSWIRE
The Crescent stops at Meridian, Miss., a station that is about to lose its agent. Bob Johnston WASHINGTON — In another cost-cutting move, “made jointly by the operating divisions and the Long Distance Service Line,” says spokesman Marc Magliari, Amtrak will eliminate ticket agents at 15 stations serving seven long distance routes as early as […]
Altamont Corridor Express orders Charger locomotives NEWSWIRE
A Siemens Charger locomotive leads a northbound Amtrak Hiawatha into Milwaukee. Altamont Corridor Express has become the latest agency to order Chargers. TRAINS: David Lassen STOCKTON, Calif. — The San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission has ordered four Siemens Charger locomotives for use on the Altamont Corridor Express commuter service. The first of the locomotives, to […]
New station approved for Metra’s UP Northwest line NEWSWIRE
CARY, Ill. — Metra’s board has approved plans for a new station for this community on the commuter railroad’s Union Pacific Northwest Line, the Chicago Tribune reports. The new station will solve a long-standing flaw with the building it will replace. Currently, the station is on the opposite side of the tracks from where passengers […]
Trains Presents: Inside Brightline’s new trains
Join us at Brightline’s Workshop B in West Palm Beach, Fla., for a look inside one of its new Siemens-built passenger trains. You’ll tour the cab and the engine room, and see the coaches before the first paying passenger ever stepped on board! Only from Trains Magazine! Read more about Brightline from passenger correspondent Bob […]
Trains Presents: Inside Brightline’s new trains
Join us at Brightline’s Workshop B in West Palm Beach, Fla., for a look inside one of its new Siemens-built passenger trains. You’ll tour the cab and the engine room, and see the coaches before the first paying passenger ever stepped on board! Only from Trains Magazine! Read more about Brightline from passenger correspondent Bob […]