IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Iowa City City Council has approved the purchase of three residential properties for the site of a possible Amtrak station, the Daily Iowan newspaper reports. The three parcels are being purchased for $475,000. They would provide the location for a station should Amtrak launch a long-discussed Chicago-Quad Cities passenger service, […]
Railroad: Amtrak
News photo: Preparing for Amtrak’s return to Montreal
MONTREAL — Operating as Amtk 694 (the train number Canadian National has always assigned to the southbound Adirondack while on CN rails), an Amtrak requalification run heads to Montreal’s Central Station on Thursday as it passes the mostly drained Peel Basin. While Amtrak service to Vancouver and Toronto was restored earlier this year, there is still […]
Amtrak’s California Zephyr day trip to Winter Park
California Zephyr day trip to Winter Park Amtrak’s California Zephyr is irrefutably one of the passenger railroad’s most picturesque and famed routes, for rail enthusiasts and historians alike. And thanks to the California Zephyr schedule today, passengers can enjoy a beautiful segment of the route in a single day and mostly in daylight hours year-round. […]
Amtrak, BNSF seek change of venue for some Southwest Chief suits
KEYTESVILLE, Mo. — Amtrak and BNSF have requested a change of venue for state lawsuits resulting from June’s fatal derailment of the Southwest Chief. KMIZ-TV reports the companies are asking that at least three suits be moved from Chariton County — site of the accident near Mendon, Mo., that killed four people — under a […]
Amtrak’s Missouri River Runner to be cut back to one round trip for several weeks
CHICAGO — Amtrak’s Missouri River Runner, which was only restored to twice-a-day round trips in July after finding funds to restore full service, is about to be trimmed once again to one daily round trip between St. Louis and Kansas City. Effective Oct. 24 through Nov. 16, westbound train No. 311 and eastbound No. 316 […]
Surfliner, Metrolink service may not be restored until mid-January
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — It could still be as long as mid-January before passenger rail service resumes through the section of South Orange County where traffic has been stopped by an unstable slope next to the railroad tracks, the Times of San Diego reports. The news site reports the Orange County Transportation Authority has finalized […]
Federal grant to fund Philadelphia planning for Northeast Corridor bridge work
PHILADELPHIA — The City of Philadelphia has received a federal grant of about $1.6 million to rehabilitate 18 bridges for city streets that cross the Northeast Corridor, part of a group of 23 projects in 23 states receiving $18.4 million in Bridge Investment Program Grants under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The funding from the Federal […]
Amtrak’s Silver Meteor returns with reduced capacity as Miami service resumes
MIAMI — With track damage caused by Hurricane Ian flooding in the Kissimmee, Fla., area repaired by CSX maintenance forces, Amtrak is restoring service beyond Jacksonville, Fla., to two New York-Florida trains this weekend. However, the addition of the second “Silver Service” train will result in a net loss of sleeping-car capacity. The Silver Meteor, […]
STB establishes office to probe Amtrak delays on host railroads (updated)
WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board has created a passenger rail office that will be responsible for investigating and analyzing Amtrak on-time performance on host railroads. The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 authorizes the STB to investigate the causes of substandard passenger rail on-time performance, to identify mitigating measures, and, under specified […]
Parties to keep talking in effort to iron out Amtrak Gulf Coast dispute
WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board on Tuesday granted a request from all parties involved to extend by 14 days the board-sponsored mediation regarding Amtrak’s effort to launch Gulf Coast passenger service. Amtrak, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and the Alabama State Port Authority will continue to talk through Oct. 25. All parties agreed that “an […]
Amtrak Wolverine to Chicago delayed more than 13 hours
CHICAGO — Some details have emerged from an ill-fated Friday, Oct. 7, trip of Amtrak Wolverine No. 351, the morning departure from Pontiac, Mich., which arrived in Chicago more than 13 hours late. The trip, scheduled for a trip of 5 hours, 49 minutes with a 10:32 a.m. arrival finally reached Chicago Union station at […]
BNSF’s new Sandpoint, Idaho, bridge nears opening
SANDPOINT, Idaho — BNSF Railway’s nearly mile-long second bridge across Lake Pend Oreille near Sandpoint is now structurally complete and tracklaying has begun. BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent says, “The new bridge will have trains operating over it by the end of November.” Initially, the second main will be laid from a point near the northwest […]