WASHINGTON — Ninety-one members of the U.S. House of Representatives have sent a letter to Amtrak President and CEO Richard Anderson demanding answers to a long list of concerns “regarding changes that Amtrak has recently implemented and is reportedly considering making to its operations” posed by their constituents. The 11-page letter — slightly more than […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has unveiled the first of 10 rebuilt F40PH locomotives for its commuter rail service. The Boston Globe reports that the program, costing about $3 million per locomotive, will extend the life of each unit about 20 years. Positive train control equipment has been added as part of the […]
New Mexico Rail Runner could build a new spur for balloon fiesta traffic. Trains: Jim Wrinn ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Despite previous setbacks, attendees of a popular hot-air balloon event in New Mexico could still eventually arrive by rail. KRQE-TV in Albuquerque, N.M., is reporting that local city government is considering the construction of a spur […]
A Staten Island Railway train pauses at Huguenot station. A new proposal would consolidate some functions of the Staten Island Railway, New York subway, and other rail operations as part of a restructuring of the MTA. Ralph Spielman A Poughkeepsie-bound Hudson Line Metro-North commuter train stops at 125th Street station in Manhattan. A new proposal […]
Metra and Amtrak trains move into Chicago Union Station in March 2017. Traffic in and out of Union Station was snarled for much of Thursday by Amtrak signal issues. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson has offered an explanation and an apology for signal problems at Chicago Union Station that snarled Metra […]
“Caesar the No-Drama Llama” meets a fan at the Oregon Convention Center light rail station. The animal’s trip aboard a light rail train was against the rules, officials subsequently confirmed. From Caesar The No-Drama Llama’s Facebook page PORTLAND, Ore. — In a city known for such oddities as a unicycle-riding, fire-breathing bagpiper, a llama riding […]
RENO, Nev. — Amtrak has announced plans to resume full service on its California Zephyr and Coast Starlight routes, both currently disrupted after snow-related closures. According to Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari, the first Zephyrs to cross Donner Pass after that route was closed by a Feb. 26 avalanche near Truckee, Calif., are scheduled to do […]
JACKSON, Miss. – Beginning Thursday, and just days before the big Mardi Gras weekend, Amtrak’s City of New Orleans from Chicago will start making a same day turn at Jackson with chartered Amtrak Thruway buses making all scheduled intermediate stops to and from the Crescent City. The northbound bus will leave New Orleans Passenger terminal […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Next week will be critical for California high speed rail as the agency responsible for managing the project must reply to the U.S. Department of Transportation by March 5. DOT is looking to cancel a $929 million grant and recover $2.6 billion in funds already delivered. The Rail Passengers Association is working […]
Brown, rusted rails on the lower-level tracks at NJ Transit’s Lindenwold, N.J., station attest to the lack of activity on the commuter railroad’s Atlantic City Line, closed since September 2018. Service will be restored in May, NJ Transit has announced. Ralph Spielman NEWARK, N.J. — The long wait for restoration of service on NJ Transit’s […]
A South Shore commuter train approaches the Hegewisch station in south Chicago. A new contract between South Shore and Metra covers South Shore’s service to Hegewisch, in Metra’s service area, as well as South Shore’s use of 14 miles of Metra trackage. TRAINS: David Lassen CHESTERTON, Ind. — The South Shore commuter system has approved […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has informed federal, state and local officials along the route of the daily Southwest Chief that, with the enactment of the recent full-year funding bill by Congress, it will provide matching funds to enable a federal grant to be awarded for safety and reliability upgrades on the train’s route in Kansas, Colorado, […]
