WASHINGTON — A total of 122 projects in 41 states and the District of Columbia have been selected for the Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant program, announced early today (Oct. 29, 2024). The selected projects will receive more than $2.4 billion in funding. “Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re […]
MONTREAL — Canadian union Unifor has opened contract negotiations with VIA Rail Canada, the union announced Monday, Oct. 28. The union’s Council 4000 represents 1,800 VIA employees in station services, headquarters, maintenance centers and onboard positions; Local 100 represents 700 employees working as diesel engine mechanics, electricians, railcar technicians, and general workers. “Our goal in […]
WASHINGTON — Another group of awards were announced today (Monday, Oct. 28) under the Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements grant program, with the latest group led by more than $72 million for work in the Milwaukee area to reroute freight trains away from the city’s primary passenger station. The full list […]
PHILADELPHIA — Members of the union representing more than 5,300 workers at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority have voted to authorize a strike effective at midnight on Nov. 7, when their current contract expires. Members of Transport Workers Union Local 234, which represents subway, trolley, and bus operators, mechanics, and other workers, voted unanimously in […]
SACRAMENTO — Eleven rail projects, including a new LA Metro light rail line and extension of service in Sonoma County by SMART commuter trail, have received more than $850 million in funding from the Calfiornia State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) in awards announced last week. “From new zero-emissions buses in the Central Valley to vital rail […]
WASHINGTON — Two more awards have been announced under the Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements, or CRISI, grant program. The first of what Washington state’s two senators said will be 122 grants totaling $2.477 billion were announced late last week [see “Announcements of 2024 CRISI grants begin,” Trains News Wire, Friday, […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak announced late Friday that its federally mandated annual public Board of Directors meeting will be held in Seattle on Dec. 4, 2024. As in past sessions staged at St. Louis Union Station in 2022 and at Richmond, Va. Main Street Station in 2023, company officials will review operating results from the just-completed […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has asked the Surface Transportation Board to dismiss its petition asking the board to compel freight railroads to allow operation of Gulf Coast service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., saying the terms of an agreement between the passenger operator, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and the Alabama State Port Authority have been fulfilled […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — Unifor, Canadian’s largest private-sector union, is calling on Canadian National Railways to prioritize passenger operations — and for more government oversight of the relationship between freight and passenger service — in the wake of restrictions CN has placed on VIA Rail Canada corridor trains in Ontario and Quebec. “This is about CN […]
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Amtrak’s Borealis service between St. Paul and Chicago, which debuted in May, passed the 100,000-passenger mark this week, with officials from Amtrak and the states funding the service riding the train on Thursday, Oct. 24, to mark the occasion. “We’ve been pleasantly surprised by the excitement and ridership that the new […]
BOSTON — A 13-day suspension of service for maintenance on a portion of the Orange Line led to the lifting of 20 speed restrictions, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has announced. The ongoing, year-long Track Improvement Program has now reduced the amount of the MBTA rail transit system under speed restrictions to 1.8 miles, or […]
CHICAGO — The operator of a Chicago Transit Authority Yellow Line train that collided with snow-removal equipment last year had alcohol in his system, but federal investigators do not consider that a factor in the incident, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The Nov. 16, 2023, collision saw 23 people taken to hospitals while another 15 refused […]
