CN criticized for lack of French-speaking board members

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OTTAWA, Ontario — Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra has criticized Canadian National Railway Co. for maintaining an English-speaking-only board of directors in a bilingual nation where 7.9 million citizens – 22% of the population – speak French as their first language. “It’s unacceptable that the board of directors does not have a francophone representative on […]

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Colorado Railroad Museum’s ‘Colorado Crossings’ event features operating steam locomotives, Galloping Geese

three galloping goose rail vehicles

GOLDEN, Colo. — The Colorado Railroad Museum is bringing back Denver’s largest and most colorful festival of operating trains on May 14-15, 2022. Called “Colorado Crossings: Intersections of History,” the event will feature two coal-fired narrow-gauge locomotives under steam plus three “Galloping Geese” in operation. These beloved self-propelled rail cars once carried mail over Lizard […]

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Carl A. Swanson named Trains Magazine editor

Man with glasses.

WAUKESHA, Wis — Kalmbach Media Co. has named veteran railroad editor and journalist Carl A. Swanson as the new editor of Trains, the nation’s largest-circulation magazine about the railroad industry. Swanson succeeds the late Jim Wrinn, who died March 30, 2022, and served as editor for more than 17 years. Kalmbach has published Trains monthly […]

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Secrecy issues dominate as Gulf Coast STB hearing continues: Analysis

Passenger train with theater car at rear stopped at station

WASHINGTON — Cross-examination of Jim Blair, Amtrak’s senior director of host railroads, consumed the full 8-hour, 28-minute session Monday as the Surface Transportation Board’s hearing on the effort to launch passenger service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., resumed after an almost three-week hiatus. Blair was questioned by lawyers from Norfolk Southern, CSX Transportation, and […]

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SEPTA advances plan to extend rail service to King of Prussia, Pa.

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PHILADELPHIA – The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has issued a request for proposals regarding the final-design stage of its Norristown High-Speed Line expansion. The project will add a 4-mile branch extending to King of Prussia, Pa. The grade-separated line extends 13.4 miles southeast from Norristown, Pa., to 69th Street Terminal, with connections there to Center […]

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Western Maryland Scenic Railroad honors Jack Showalter

Nose of black steam locomotive and train coming around a bend

CUMBERLAND, Md. – On Friday, May 6, before the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad’s first 2022 public excursion behind Baldwin 2-6-6-2 No. 1309, the railroad celebrated the life of steam railroading luminary, Jack Showalter. Inside the former Western Maryland Railway’s Cumberland station, officials and guests saluted the people behind No. 1309’s recent restoration, and shared memories […]

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STB board member stresses measured approach to service issues

Man in dark suit and tie standing at microphone

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The prospect that the Surface Transportation Board will require specific, operational moves  by the rail industry to address its ongoing service issues appears unlikely, and board member Patrick Fuchs spells out why it is not the regulators’ preferred option. “To the board, carriers are clearly in the best positions to identify […]

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Runaway barge strikes NS bridge on flooded Potomac

Train on tall bridge over river

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. — Two construction barges broke loose on the flood-swollen Potomac River, with one of them striking the 1904 Norfolk Southern deck truss bridge here before hanging up further east. Both runaway vessels were engaged in work at a section of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park to the north along the […]

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Berkshires to New York Amtrak service begins July 8

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The new seasonal rail service between Pittsfield, Mass., and New York City is scheduled to operate during summer weekends this year and again in 2023. Amtrak and local transportation officials will evaluate the demand, determining if the pilot project should be continued. “We are pleased to work together with our partner agencies […]

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