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Railfanning spots with heavy rail traffic can be a magnet for enthusiasts and casual observers. The constant parade of one train after another with minimal lulls in between is alluring — and a stark contrast to places where waiting on a single train for hours can feel like watching paint dry. For those who don’t […]
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Transportation Commission has approved last month’s decision by a regional governmental to provide $3.5 million to keep Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer operating for at least another year. The Regional Transportation Council of the North Central Texas Council of Governments in July voted to provide the funding, filling a funding gap created […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration will seek to remove one of the environmental components from its Capital Investment Grants program, FTA administrator Marc Molinaro said today (Aug. 21, 2025). The revision will remove “social cost of carbon” calculations from the ratings criteria used to award those grants — the federal government’s largest program to […]
CHICAGO — A recent locomotive failure that stranded passengers on an Amtrak Wolverine train for more than five hours — mostly without light, air conditioning, or working toilets — was caused by a sensor problem that affects the fleet of 33 Siemens Charger SC44 locomotives used in Midwest state-supported service, according to a Michigan news […]
CHICAGO — Metra will add service on its most-used route, the BNSF Line, and make changes to two of its Union Pacific lines in September, the commuter operator has announced. On the BNSF Line between Aurora, Ill., and Chicago, the schedule effective Sept. 8 will include two new morning inbound express trains and two afternoon […]
WASHINGTON — After six weeks in positive territory, U.S. weekly rail traffic slipped slightly below 2024 levels during the week ending Aug. 16, 2025. According to statistics from the Association of American Railroads, traffic for the week was 512,970 carloads and intermodal unites, a drop of 0.7% from the same week a year ago. That […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs says his railroad strongly disagrees with the assertions that an activist investor made in a letter that was made public this week. Ancora Holdings seeks to force CSX to promptly engage in merger talks with BNSF or Canadian Pacific Kansas City — and argues that Hinrichs should be […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has awarded contracts and begun activity preceding construction for modernization of yards in Boston, New York, and Washington to prepare them for the delivery of new Airo trainsets. “These investments are key to introducing our new Airo trains on the Northeast Corridor beginning in 2027,” Amtrak President Roger Harris said in a […]
WASHINGTON — Members of the House of Representatives are launching a new investigation into federal funding for the California high-speed rail project, James Comer, chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, announced Tuesday. Comer (R-Ky.) said in a press release that the committee wants to know if the California High-Speed Rail Authority “knowingly […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration on Tuesday warned it could take actions against New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority — including withholding 25% of the transit agency’s federal funding — over what the FTA called New York City Transit’s failure to address safety risks for subway track maintenance workers. The FTA issued a special directive […]
NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — R.J. Corman Railroad Group has named Justin Broyles as president and CEO, the company announced Tuesday (Aug. 19, 2025). Broyles had been named to the positions on an interim position in June [see “Broyles named interim CEO …,” Trains.com, June 27, 2025]. Broyles, formerly chief commercial officer at Patriot Rail, rejoined R.J. […]
Time capsule When construction of Pennsylvania’s iron ore and coal-hauling East Broad Top began in 1872, more than 150 years ago, its builders decided it would be a narrow gauge line, with rails set 3-feet apart instead of the North American standard gauge of 4-feet, 8.5-inches. Narrow gauge offered significant advantages, as the smaller locomotives […]
