CHICAGO — Metra’s board of directors has approved a 2024 budget that significantly revises the commuter rail agency’s fare structure and eliminates some discount passes introduced in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The board on Friday approve a $1.1 billion operating budget, a 4.9% increase over the 2023 budget (excluding $65 million to be […]
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. — Shortline holding company Regional Rail LLC is expanding its holdings, having agreed to acquire Indiana Eastern Railroad and the Ohio South Central Railroad, the company announced today (Friday, Nov. 10). Indiana Eastern is a 43-mile short line headquartered in Liberty, Ind., operating between Richmond, Ind., and Fernald, Ohio. It was established […]
WASHINGTON — California and other states can enact tougher locomotive emissions standards than those imposed by the federal government, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said this week. The policy change, which goes into effect on Dec. 8, means the California Air Resources Board’s controversial locomotive emissions regulations will not run afoul of federal preemption of […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National will launch new intermodal service from the Port of Gulfport, Miss., under a new agreement with the state’s port authority. Test moves from the Gulf Coast port — which specializes in refrigerated cargo such as Dole and Chiquita bananas and other produce — will begin in the next few weeks, CN […]
As classic as a ’67 Chevrolet Chevelle SS and as smooth as a Rolls Royce, the Rio Grande’s 2-8-2 Mikado “Sport Model” K-28 locomotives turn 100 years old in 2023. Those 100 years have been spent hauling tonnage across some of the most difficult narrow-gauge right of way in the country and perhaps the world. […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority said Thursday that it will launch a major track repair program with the goal of eliminating all speed restrictions on its transit lines by the end of 2024, a program that will require incremental, multi-day shutdowns of the Red, Orange, Green, and Blue lines over the next 14 […]
TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas Department of Transportation presented a tentative operating schedule for an extension of Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer from Oklahoma City to Newton, Kan. — where it would connect with the Southwest Chief — as part of an online informational meeting Wednesday to seek public comment. The 20-minute presentation included in the meeting […]
CLEVELAND —Newburgh & South Shore Railroad, an OmniTRAX short line serving the Cleveland area, has introduced its first battery-electric locomotive, the first electric locomotive operated by an Ohio short line. The locomotive, an AMPS Traction G9, is intended to reduce fuel consumption by half and NOx emission and particulate matter by 77%. The locomotive was […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — Five current members of the VIA Rail Canada board of directors, including chairperson Francoise Bertrand, have been reappointed to the board, Canada’s Transport Minister announced Thursday. “I am very happy to congratulate the accomplished individuals who have been reappointed to the Board of Directors,” Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez said in a statement. […]
OWOSSO, Mich. — Pere Marquette steam locomotive No. 1225 completed a series of test runs and break-in trips in late October and early November, marking the locomotive’s first return to service since December 2021. The Berkshire-type 2-8-4 underwent a multiyear rebuild of the drivers and running gear in a partnership with Owosso’s Steam Railroading Institute […]
Ask anyone who covers railroads for a living and they’ll tell you — if they are honest — they couldn’t do it without the support of their contacts in railroad public relations. Of course, such cooperation varies from company to company, and PR directors I’ve known have run the gamut from obfuscation to enlightenment. One […]
WASHINGTON — BNSF Railway and Navajo Transitional Energy Co. have reached a settlement that will end the coal miner’s common carrier complaint against the railroad. The companies today asked the Surface Transportation Board to suspend the case until Jan. 8, 2024, which is when BNSF and NTEC expect to conclude their settlement process. In an […]
