Spectacular bridges are one of the features of the Chepe Express trip through the Copper Canyon region. Chepe Express The full-height windows are one of the key features of the Terraza lounge car which brings up the rear of the train. The windows can be opened when weather permits. Chepe Express CHIHUAHUA, Mexico — The […]
Amtrak P32 No. 713 leads train 290, the Ethan Allen Express, south out of Albany-Rennselaer toward New York Penn Station. The track coming in from the lower right is where trains from Pittsfield would arrive, and then, with a new engine, head south. Dan Kittay PITTSFIELD, Mass. — An effort to establish “one seat” train […]
Former Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman, in Pueblo, Colo., for the first public test of an ACS-64 locomotive in 2013. Boardman died Thursday at age 70. Bob Johnston Reactions to the death of former Amtrak president and CEO Joe Boardman continue to come in from across government and the transportation world. Here are some additional thoughts […]
This rendering shows the vehicles for the proposed Boring Co. project to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. The company is being recommended for a new transit project in Las Vegas. The Boring Co. LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Elon Musk’s Boring Co. may get another chance to build an express-tunnel transit system. The Associated Press reports that Las […]
Joe Boardman, near his home in Rome, N.Y., in 2018. Bob Johnston Reactions to the passing of former Amtrak president and CEO Joe Boardman, who died Thursday at age 70 From Rail Passengers Association President and CEO Jim Mathews: “Joe Boardman believed in his bones that all Americans should have the ability to choose to […]
A Brightline train passes through Lantana, Fla. The company, now Virgin Trains USA, is seeking bonds to help finance its expansion to Orlando, but a meeting on the bond proposal adjourned Wednesday without resolution. TRAINS: David Lassen ORLANDO, Fla. — A meeting to review Virgin Trains USA’s request for $2.7 billion in private activity bonds, […]
Former Amtrak President Joe Boardman seated at his former office in Washington, D.C. Bob Johnston EDITOR’S NOTE: This Q&A interview was originally published in the March 2019 issue of Trains Magazine. It is being re-published on news of his death in March 2019. Since retiring as Amtrak’s president and CEO in 2016 after eight years […]
Two NJ Transit Morris and Essex Line trains meet at the Maplewood, N.J., station. The train on the left is headed to Dover; the one on the right is bound for New York’s Penn Station. The proposed state budget for fiscal 2020 would provide an additional $100 million in funding for the transit agency. Ralph […]
AURORA, Colo. — A light rail vehicle was going more than three times the speed limit when it derailed on a curve in Aurora in January, ejecting a passenger whose leg was severed by the moving train, the Denver Post reports. The Post report on the Jan. 28 derailment is based on a police report […]
PHILADELPHIA – The police force of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has gone on strike as of 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Philadelphia Enquirer reports. The agency has 270 officers. SEPTA expects to deploy its 49 supervisors to patrol during the labor action, who will receive assistance from city police. […]
PHILADELPHIA — Amtrak service between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pa., remains suspended after problems with the overhead power lines stopped service on Monday, but the passenger railroad says service will be restored today. Amtrak’s notice on the outage does not indicate a projected time for the restoration of service, interrupted early Monday because of weather-related problems. […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California High Speed Rail Authority responded strongly on Monday to a Federal Railroad Administration intent to cancel funding and seek the return of federal grants, calling it “unwarranted, unprecedented, and harmful” to the state and nation. Those were the words of Brian Kelly, CEO of the authority, in a statement accompanying the […]
