IRVINE, Calif. — LA-area commuter rail operator Metrolink is hoping to build a maintenance facility in Irvine on 21 vacant acres owned by the Orange County Transportation Authority near the city’s Great Park, the Orange County Register reports. The OCTA is leading environmental review and approval for the project, expected to cost about $4.8 million. […]
Magazine: Trains Magazine
Worker killed on Los Angeles subway project
LOS ANGELES — A construction worker was killed Wednesday at the site of a future LA Metro subway station when he was struck and killed by a work train. KCBS-TV reports the accident occurred at the site of the Wilshire and La Brea station. Firefighters were called just after 4:50 p.m. to a report of […]
Ukraine war leads to coal shortage for British heritage steam
Several of the largest steam heritage railways in Britain have announced reduced schedules or postponed special events involving multiple locomotives. The reason: a shortage of suitable coal because of transport or supply problems following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Britain once boasted the world’s largest coal export ports. Railways around the world relied on coal […]
Unions turn to arbitration in effort to strike down BNSF attendance policies
CLEVELAND — The two unions who were blocked from striking over new BNSF Railway attendance policies imposed by BNSF Railway seek to overturn those rules through arbitration. In a statement Wednesday, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division said they would “proceed as […]
Davey, former Massachusetts transportation secretary, to head New York City Transit
NEW YORK — Richard Davey, former Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation, has been named as the new president of New York City Transit, the portion of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority operating New York’s subways and buses, paratransit services, and the Staten Island Railway. MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber announced the appointment Wednesday. Davey will begin […]
STB addresses details on Gulf Coast hearing, allows more comments on switching
WASHINGTON — In separate actions Wednesday, the Surface Transportation Board outlined additional information for its upcoming hearing on Amtrak’s efforts to initiate Gulf Coast service, and on its consideration of new rules regarding reciprocal switching. Rules outlined for Amtrak hearing, to be held online Regarding the Amtrak hearing, set to begin April 4, the board […]
Sluggish intermodal traffic continues to keep weekly U.S. rail traffic down
WASHINGTON — Continuing the trend that has continued for most of 2022, weekly U.S. rail traffic remains below 2021 levels, mostly because of intermodal traffic. For the week ending March 19, 2022, the overall volume of 499,362 carloads and intermodal units represented a 2.7% decrease from the same week a year earlier, according to statistics from […]
Genesee & Wyoming touts business development efforts for 2021
DARIEN, Conn. — Genesee & Wyoming says its business development efforts in 2021 led to 69 projects totaling $1.5 billion in customer development and expected to generate more than 1,000 news jobs. “Based on last year’s customer investments, G&W’s freight transportation services continue to be critical to companies’ logistics strategies and the greater supply chain,” […]
2-6-6-2 steam locomotive action photos: Western Maryland Scenic
2-6-6-2 steam locomotive action photos: Western Maryland Scenic Railroad and Trains Magazine on Feb. 25-27 kicked off the 2022 steam season at the Cumberland, Md.-based tourist railroad with a multiday photo charter for 100 enthusiasts spotlighting No. 1309, the former Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 returned to service after an arduous restoration process. The 1949 articulated […]
Union Pacific makes major donation for Ukrainian relief
OMAHA — Union Pacific will donate $500,000 to humanitarian relief in Ukraine, its largest-ever corporate donation for disaster relief, the company announced today. The funds will be split between the American Red Cross and Save the Children. The company had previously announced a 2-1 match for employee donations to six organizations providing direct support in […]
Bad Day at Black Rock filming location
Bad Day at Black Rock filming location: “Bad Day at Black Rock” sounds like the perfect name for a western, but really, it’s a taut present day crime drama that explodes onto the screen when one-armed John McCreedy steps off the train just after the opening credits. And what a backdrop for the credits; a […]
CSX asks regulators to toss NS request for trackage rights over CPKC
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators should toss out Norfolk Southern’s request for trackage rights over Kansas City Southern from Shreveport, La., to the Dallas area as part of the proposed Canadian Pacific-KCS merger, CSX Transportation says. NS sees Canadian Pacific Kansas City as a threat to its Meridian Speedway intermodal traffic. And so NS says it may […]