ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The fiscal 2025 budget for Virginia Railway Express has received final approval, setting the stage for the commuter operator to begin offering Saturday service for the first time later this year. The $119.9 million operating budget, up 10% over fiscal 2024, received approval last week from the second of the two agencies […]
I’m not holding my breath, but the Federal Railroad Administration late last year released a long list of routes chosen for what it calls its Corridor Identification and Development Program, which the Trains News Wire describes as “a catch-all group of 69 potential future Amtrak routes, possible extensions to existing routes, efforts to increase service […]
CUMBERLAND, Md. — The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad has signed a long-term lease to acquire the Georges Creek Railway, a dormant short line in Maryland’s southwestern Allegany County, which the railroad plans to use for “passenger and potential freight opportunities,” according to a press release. The newly acquired line will be known as Western Maryland […]
GORE, Va. — A sand mine that has provided the majority of carload traffic for the original main line of the Winchester & Western Railroad for 80 years is preparing to close, with an uncertain impact on what is now the railroad’s Virginia Division. The Winchester Star reports the mine in Gore stopped accepting orders […]
LOMBARD, Ill. — One final batch of notes from this week’s Midwest Association of Rail Shippers Winter Meeting, marking the organization’s 100th anniversary: Blending cultures Merging railroads can be difficult, simply as a matter of blending cultures. The Penn Central merger famously was hindered by the clashing views of longtime competitors Pennsylvania and New York […]
Last year’s merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, the two smallest Class I systems, has turned out to be the little spark that has ignited a lot of railroad competition. Skeptics have scoffed at Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s meandering route from the Midwest to the Mexican border at Laredo, Texas. It’s got more […]
LOMBARD, Ill. — A lot has happened since Class I railroads averted a strike in 2022. CEOs and other officials at the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers Winter Meeting were happy to point to progress in labor relations. Which is good, because — believe it or not — the whole national contract process is about […]
GETTYSBURG, Pa. — Patriot Rail, a short line company that operates 32 railroads across the United States, is planning to revive passenger service on the Gettysburg & Northern Railroad in 2025, to capitalize on the millions of tourists who pour into this Civil War mecca each year. G&N will join two other active Patriot Rail […]
LOMBARD, Ill. — Notes from Day 1 of the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers Winter Meeting: Border battle Union Pacific found itself involved in headlines not of its own making in December when U.S. Customs and Border Protection shut down border rail gateways at Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, quickly throwing U.S-Mexico rail traffic […]
LOMBARD, Ill. — The theme may not be new, but the emphasis seems to be increasing. The idea that railroads need to work together — and that doing so can be beneficial to all parties, not just the railroads involved, but their customers as well — was a recurring topic during the first day of […]
CUMBERLAND, Md. — Western Maryland Scenic Railroad has launched a fundraising campaign to return both its steam locomotives — 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 and 2-8-0 No. 734 — to operation, with No. 1309 newly sidelined after the discovery it needs its pistons and rods replaced. The former Cheaspeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 has been the heritage railroad’s […]
Canadian Pacific Kansas City was the only Class I railroad that was able to eke out higher volume last year. CPKC’s traffic was up a scant 0.1% in 2023, which was a down year for North American freight volume. Rail traffic in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico was down a combined 2.1% last year, according […]
