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LOMBARD, Ill. — The Midwest Association of Rail Shippers Winter Meeting is by no means focused on passenger railroading, but there were some notable comments about Amtrak over the course of the two-day event. Foremost among those, not surprisingly, were the thoughts of Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman, whose agency’s busy agenda touches […]
WASHINGTON — Replacement of Amtrak’s long-distance passenger cars has been included in forward-looking fleet plans for more than a decade, but the company announced Thursday it contacted carbuilders in December as “a first formal step” to re-equip the 14 overnight routes of the long-distance network. The request for expressions of interest “was sent to potential […]
CHICAGO — It’s no surprise travelers attempting to book Amtrak’s Capitol Limited in January either face sold-out trips or are confronted with record high fares for a coach seat or sleeping accommodation. Inventory is scarce, pushing prices up for what little capacity remains. Trailing two P42 locomotives on the Capitol into Chicago on Jan. 15 […]
SANTA MARIA, Calif. — A section of Union Pacific’s Coast Line that connects the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles remains closed to freight and passenger service following a series of winter storms that pummeled the Golden State during the first two weeks of January. Union Pacific crews are currently working to stabilize a […]
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Work to stabilize a slope along the rail line between Los Angeles and San Diego may face new delays, after contractors discovered placement of ground anchors may conflict with earlier efforts to stabilize homes on the hillside above. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that installation of some of the anchors, which […]
SEATTLE — The Amtrak Cascades service will add a round trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, from Portland, Ore., on March 7, restoring operations to Vancouver to their pre-pandemic levels. Also, the Cascades service recently provided an advance look at how its equipment will look, inside and out, when it takes delivery of the Siemens equipment […]
EGR and SCR locomotive systems EGR and SCR locomotive systems are just two ways locomotives meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emission regulations, specifically Tier 4, standards implemented for new locomotives built for service in the United States. The emission regulations are designed to reduce the amount of nitrous oxide, particulate matter, hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has reduced the price of its USA Rail Pass from $499 to $299 through Jan. 20. The unusually large discount affords travelers interested in covering a lot of ground or booking multiple-stop itineraries a cost-effective way to get around, as long as they can forego upgrades to sleeping car accommodations or business […]
What is Amtrak’s “rainbow” fleet? Amtrak began operations on May 1, 1971, and at the time had only one piece of equipment sporting Amtrak’s first logo, E8 No. 4316. This engine is currently offered by Rapido. All of the passenger equipment came from the railroads that joined to form Amtrak, including over 400 from the […]
LOS ANGELES — Extensive flooding and mudslides in the Santa Barbara area caused by more than a week of continuous rain pounding California’s coast have resulted in the cancelation of all Amtrak service north of Los Angeles through at least today (Wednesday, Jan. 11) The Coast Starlight had been cancelled north of Sacramento as a […]
CHICAGO — The Amtrak locomotives that sustained mid-route failures on the Empire Builder in December, stranding the eastbound train in rural Minnesota, are undergoing software and hardware modifications intended to prevent the problems from recurring. Responding to a Trains News Wire inquiry asking Amtrak why the Builder didn’t operate west of the Twin Cities for […]
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — A series of storms that have brought significant rain to California have slowed efforts to repair an unstable slope along the Surf Line in Orange County, pushing back efforts to restore through rail passenger service between Los Angeles and San Diego while also raising the cost of the repair effort. The […]
