CHICAGO — Only one month after approving a $71 million contract to purchase 15 remanufactured locomotives, Metra’s board has allocated $56 million to buy eight new locomotives that meet the latest Tier 4 federal emissions standards. Part of the money, $14 million, is coming from funds that Illinois is receiving as part of the $2 […]
Interested buyers examine a ‘Pacific Parlour Car’ at during a public inspection at Amtrak’s Beech Grove Heavy Maintenance Facility in December 2018. Bob Johnston OWOSSO, Mich. – Two Amtrak Pacific Parlour Cars will soon join Steam Railroading Institute’s passenger car fleet. The cars were built as Santa Fe Hi-level lounges by the Budd Co. in […]
NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey commuters can expect cancellations and delays this summer for a lack of qualified locomotive engineers. After taking a tour of NJ Transit’s Emergency Operation Center in Maplewood, N.J., on Tuesday afternoon, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy told media members present that having just eight graduates in May from engineer training […]
ATLANTA — Voters in the northern Atlanta suburb of Gwinnett County rejected a proposal to expand MARTA into their county, the third time in nearly 50 years they have denied such a plan. The referendum asked voters to authorize a contract with the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, which would have added a 1 percent […]
On August 2, 1911, the small town of Sheffield, Ill., 22 miles west of Bureau on the Rock Island’s main line, comes to life for the midday arrival of a passenger train bound for Chicago. Roy Campbell collection […]
An early-1940s view from atop St. Louis Union Station’s trainshed imparts a sense of how busy the big terminal was during World War II. In the foreground a Terminal Railroad Association diesel switcher shares station tracks with New York Central, B&O, and Chicago & Eastern Illinois trains, while in the distance men stand alongside a […]
Passengers line up along the marble ticket counter just inside the front entrance of New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal shortly after its opening in 1954. James G. La Vake photo […]
GG1 4901’s nose door is ajar as it leads sister 4894 on the Pennsy’s Liberty Limited out of Baltimore in September 1954. The train came in from Chicago behind diesels; the track arrangement at Baltimore required it to be hauled backwards to Washington (note the observation car behind the second G). H. N. Proctor photo […]
Amtrak’s California Zephyr calls at Omaha in September 2018. Trains: Jim Wrinn OMAHA, Neb. — Faced with uncertain restoration dates on the California Zephyr’s regular BNSF Railway route owing to extensive flooding in Iowa, beginning Thursday, March 21, Amtrak is rerouting the train over the Union Pacific’s former Chicago & North Western main line between […]
CHICAGO — Metra is seeking bids for new commuter rail cars and says it is willing to break with 70 years of Chicago rail commuting tradition if it gets a better idea. The agency Wednesday issued a request for proposals for at least 200 new railcars and is urging manufacturers to suggest alternative designs that […]
KENT, Wash. — Sound Transit has begun taking public comment on a controversial proposal to build a maintenance base for light rail on the site of a popular local hamburger restaurant, but the idea has drawn fresh criticism from one significant voice: a board member of the regional transit agency. David Upthegrove, a King County […]
WASHINGTON — At least $232 billion needs to be invested during the next 10 years in public transit, according to a report released this week by the American Public Transportation Association. The study draws from three sources. A U.S. Department of Transportation infrastructure status report, issued in 2015, identifies an $89.8-billion backlog of spending needed […]
