Presidential Emergency Board recommendations for a new rail labor contract are a “vast improvement” over offers from the railroads, the president of a major rail union says, but “do not go far enough” in addressing quality-of-life issues. Jeremy R. Ferguson, president of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation-Transportation Division, said in a statement Thursday […]
WASHINGTON — A series of Northeast Corridor efforts to replace century-old infrastructure highlights 11 passenger-rail projects receiving more than $233 million in Federal Railroad Administration grant funding. The grants announced today (Thursday, Aug. 18) by the U.S. Department of Transportation are part of the Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair Program. The projects included […]
CALGARY — Canadian National and oil and gas service and transportation firm Keyera will evaluate development of a new terminal to ship conventional and clean energy in Alberta’s “industrial heartland,” the companies announced Wednesday. The facility would be on adjoining land belonging to CN and Keyera and would provide a single terminal to transport energy […]
CUMBERLAND, Md. — The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad will hold a steam-powered fundraiser Oct. 14 to benefit restoration of the Railroaders Memorial Museum’s Pennsylvania Railroad K4s-class 4-6-2 steam locomotive No. 1361, based in Altoona, Pa. An evening dinner train will be pulled by WMSR’s ex-Chesapeake & Ohio Railway 2-6-6-2 engine No. 1309 (Baldwin, 1949), temporarily […]
CAMANCHE, Iowa — The city of Camanche has rejected an offer for $200,000 from Canadian Pacific to mitigate the impact of the pending CP-Kansas City Southern deal, with Mayor Austin Pruett telling KWQC-TV the offer is “very offensive.” The funds would have addressed closing two of the seven grade crossings in the community of 4,570, […]
PORT CLINTON, Pa. — This is turning out to be the summer of steam on Pennsylvania’s Reading & Northern Railroad. Less than a week after a spectacular doubleheaded public excursion [see “News photos: Doubleheaded ‘Iron Horse Ramble’ …,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 14, 2022], the railroad’s Passenger Department has posted on social media that R&N […]
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – Work continues on preparing East Broad Top’s 2-8-2-type engine No. 16 (Baldwin, 1916) for a return to active service. The narrow-gauge railroad, a National Historic Landmark, last used steam power in 2011, just prior to the shutdown that put the 33-mile railroad into a deep freeze for more than eight years. […]
CHICAGO — The Federal Railroad Administration will provide a $3 million grant for a project to upgrade concourses at Chicago Union Station, matching funds by Amtrak and its partners and bringing the concourse project to the point where it is ready for construction. U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot […]
CHICAGO — More than a year after requesting proposals for the project, Metra’s board of directors has approved a plan to convert at least three of its oldest F40PH-3 locomotives, and as many as six, to battery power. Progress Rail will perform the conversions at its Patterson, Ga., facility, with delivery of the initial order […]
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Supreme Court has struck down a state law prohibiting stopped trains from blocking railroad crossings, citing federal jurisdiction in regulation of railroads. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that in a ruling issued Wednesday, the opinion by Justice Sharon Kennedy acknowledged “the significant danger to the public” created when trains obstruct the […]
HEREFORD, Texas — Seventeen cars of a BNSF Railway intermodal train derailed early Wednesday morning on the railroad’s Southern Transcon near the town of Hereford, the Amarillo Globe-News reports. The derailment occurred about 5 a.m. on the Hereford Subdivision, between the towns of Dawn and Hereford, about 45 miles southwest of Amarillo. No injuries were […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has introduced a new Café menu on its Northeast Corridor and long-distance trains, featuring more menu options, new hot meals, and more vegan offerings. The new menu debuted Wednesday, Aug. 17. At the same time, the company is reducing prices for sandwiches and salads on Acela and Northeast Regional trains by 50 […]
