Voters in two cities approve MBTA South Coast Rail service

BOSTON — Voters in the communities of New Bedford and Fall River, Mass., have voted to join the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, clearing the way for operation of South Coast Rail commuter service, which is expected to begin in 2023. Boston.com reports those two communities and Taunton, Mass., are the only major cities within 50 […]

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EPA may seek more stringent locomotive pollution regulations

CP_Earnings_Lassen

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency will consider new, stricter regulations regarding diesel locomotive emissions, the agency said Wednesday. Reuters reports that the agency said it had formed a team “to evaluate how best to address air pollutant emissions from the locomotive sector. This team will develop a set of options and recommendations for possible […]

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U.S. weekly rail traffic down slightly for week ending Nov. 5

Weekly table of U.S. carload rail traffic by commodity type, plus overall intermodal figures.

WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic showed a slight decline for the week ending Nov. 5, after having displayed a slight uptick the previous week, according to the latest figures from the Association of American Railroads. The total volume of 502,106 carloads and intermodal units represented a 0.4% decline compared to the corresponding week in 2021. That […]

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Does the Amtrak Downeaster require two engineers to back up?

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Cody addresses the Amtrak Downeaster in this video of Ask Trains. Are you looking to learn more about your model railroad, or do you have questions about full-size trains? Send us an email at: AskTrains@trains.com ………………………………… Ask Trains is a regular video feature of Trains.com for magazine subscribers and Trains.com members, where editors answer the questions […]

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J.B. Hunt sees massive intermodal growth opportunity on BNSF Railway

Double-stack container train passing maintenance equipment

CHICAGO — J.B. Hunt executives see the potential for major growth with partner BNSF Railway next year thanks to rival Schneider shifting its intermodal business to Union Pacific. Schneider’s move to UP, effective Jan. 1, comes a year after another major truckload carrier, Knight-Swift, left BNSF for UP. “We have massive capacity becoming available to […]

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Strasburg details 96-hour repair to engine No. 475

Front view of locomotive with weld repairs visible

STRASBURG, Pa. — Strasburg Rail Road’s ex-Norfolk & Western 4-8-0 steam engine No. 475 returned to excursion passenger duty this week after the company’s mechanical department worked overtime to repair smokebox damage from a Nov. 2 collision with a tracked excavator. The locomotive was back in service on Monday [see “Strasburg No.475 back in service […]

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