CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Passenger and freight railroad projects will benefit from federal surface transportation dollars made available in President Biden’s $1.2 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law in November. But freight railroads should also see residual value from increased carloads of construction-related materials as highway and infrastructure-heavy projects ramp up. This […]
Magazine: Trains Magazine
FRA report details Amtrak delays, other performance statistics
WASHINGTON — The Cardinal, Sunset Limited, and Texas Eagle were the Amtrak trains experiencing the most delays in fiscal 2021’s fourth quarter, according to a report on Amtrak performance released Monday by the Federal Railroad Administration. The quarterly report on performance and service quality uses metrics defined by the rule issued in 2020 which requires […]
Autonomous rail vehicle project receives $4.4 million federal grant
LOS ANGELES — Parallel Systems, the company seeking to build autonomous battery-powered intermodal rail vehicles, has received a $.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for the development of its technology. The grant is part of the DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, program, developed to advance high-potential, high-impact energy technologies. It […]
Acela suffers seven-hour stoppage in New York
NEW YORK — An Amtrak Acela train bound from Boston to New York was stalled on the Northeast Corridor for more than seven hours after losing power on Monday, the Associated Press reports. Train No. 2151 left Boston at 5:05 a.m. but lost power in the Hunter’s Point neighborhood of Queens at 8:37 a.m., 10 […]
Analysis: What the STB should ask to help sort out Amtrak Gulf Coast fiasco
Amtrak will square off against CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and the Port of Mobile, Ala., during Surface Transportation Board hearings this month and next regarding proposed Gulf Coast passenger service. Technically, this is about Amtrak’s disagreement with the freight railroads over starting a pair of daily round trips between Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans. But […]
Cumbres & Toltec Scenic commission votes to restore Rio Grande K-37
CHAMA, N.M. — We may yet see a Rio Grande K-37 climb Cumbres Pass once more. On Saturday, the two-state commission that oversees the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad voted to restore a Rio Grande K-37 2-8-2, returning that model to the 64-mile narrow gauge railroad for the first time since 2002 when No. 497 […]
New tourist operation to launch in New York’s Saratoga County
CORINTH, N.Y. — The newly formed Saratoga Corinth & Hudson Railway has announced plans to begin tourist operations this spring. Trains will operate on more than 11 miles of the southern end of the former Delaware & Hudson Railway Adirondack Branch, between Corinth and Greenfield, N.Y., just north of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The locomotive will […]
Pennsylvania regulators turn down CSX request to demolish bridge
PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission has turned down a request by CSX Transportation to remove a 60-year-old bridge in Southwest Philadelphia, siding with the city of Philadelphia’s recommendation to replace the structure at a cost of $5 million. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that CSX filed the request to demolish the bridge on Cemetery […]
NJ Transit settles with crew member over Hoboken crash
TRENTON, N.J. — The NJ Transit board of directors has approved a settlement for a crew member injured in the 2016 accident that saw a train crash through the end of track at its Hoboken, N.J., terminal. NorthJersey.com reports that the board unanimously approved the settlement for Mark Mari, a conductor on the train in […]
What’s in Chase Gunnoe’s camera bag?
Fifteen years ago, when entering the rail photography scene capturing photos of Norfolk Southern trains switching freight cars on the old West Virginia Secondary in Nitro, W.Va., my resources involved a Kodak EasyShare C433 and a Walmart-bought Case Logic case. The camera’s rectangular dimensions were smaller than today’s smartphones and a quick eBay search determines […]
Gulf Coast show(down) set to begin: Analysis
WASHINGTON — The words “significant harm” and “unfair” on dozens of comments are countered by “boost tourism” and “economic growth” on dozens more. But comments filed with the Surface Transportation Board as it prepares for its hearing on Amtrak’s effort to start Gulf Coast service finds the phrase “precedent-setting impact” showing up on both sides […]
Environmental groups sue over STB approval of Utah rail project
WASHINGTON — A coalition of environmental groups have sued the Surface Transportation Board, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and federal government over the STB’s approval of Utah’s Uinta Basin Railway project. The suit filed Friday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia by the Center for Biological Diversity and four […]