How Amtrak services fared with summer travel surge: Analysis

Passenger train with converted locomotive cab car leading.

WASHINGTON — Though Amtrak ridership for June and July 2023 did not reach pre-pandemic levels for the same months in 2019, a review of company statistics shows systemwide revenue beat the total for those months thanks to strong performance from Northeast Corridor and long-distance service. Frequency and capacity played a part in the performance shown […]

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Dieselmotive buys former Gettysburg Railroad F7s

Black and yellow F-unit in yard, with another visible behind Norfolk Southern diesel

Dieselmotive Co, Inc. of Turlock, Calif., has purchased two former Gettysburg Railroad F7s last operated in 2013, with an eye toward returning the locomotives to freight service. The two units, last used by the Pioneer Lines short line in Gettsysburg, Pa., in 2013, are en route to a short line in Kansas for evaluation and […]

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Rocky Mountaineer resumes regular operations in Canada

A Rocky Mountaineer train

KAMLOOPS, British Columbia — Rocky Mountaineer tour train service resumed its normal schedule in Canada as of Sunday, Aug. 27, following several days of disruptions, the company reports. Some departures had been cancelled as a result of wildfires in British Columbia, as well as an emergency order by British Columbia government that restricted non-essential travel […]

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VIA Rail Canada puts C$80 million into preservation of four historic stations

Outside of ornate train station

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — VIA Rail Canada is in the midst of spending more than C$80 million to preserve and upgrade four heritage stations across its network, the company said last week. That includes C$25 million at Winnipeg, where work is expected to be completed later this year. That money is being spent between 2020 and […]

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Unusual locomotives – Hawaii

yellow and green locomotive in Hawaii

In many states, finding an operating Whitcomb 45-ton centercab switcher isn’t that unusual. But in Hawaii, which eschewed railroading in general decades ago, any operating locomotive is unusual. Working railroads anywhere in the islands are pretty much non-existent, with visitors having to be content with railway historical societies, museums, and private attractions. You’ll find one […]

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Port of Coos Bay seeks Mega Grant for intermodal port plan

Logo of the Coos Bay Rail Line

COOS BAY, Ore. — The Port of Coos Bay, Ore., is once again making a bid for a U.S. Department of Transportation Mega Grant, after its bid for an intermodal project was not selected a year ago. The project seeks to create a new intermodal gateway capable of handling 1.2 million containers per year. Oregon […]

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California begins process of purchasing high speed trainsets

Computer rendering of California high speed rail train at dusk

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California is preparing to buy the first trainsets for its high speed rail system. The California High-Speed Rail Authority Board of Directors last week approved a Request for Qualifications for the purchase of six trainsets for use on the initial 171-mile, Merced-to-Bakersfield section of the long-delayed LA-San Francisco high speed system. “Our […]

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Transportation Safety Board concerned about fire risk from distributed power units

Red diesel locomotive in the middle of a train

RICHMOND, British Columbia — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has expressed concerns about fire risks posted by distributed-power locomotives as part of its final report on a July 2021 incident involving a Canadian Pacific freight train at Elko, B.C. In a press release accompanying Thursday’s release of the final investigation report, the TSB says […]

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CSX unveils L&N heritage locomotive

Locomotive with blue cab and gray long hood

WAYCROSS, Ga. — CSX has released its latest heritage diesel, this time honoring predecessor Louisville & Nashville. The ES44AH locomotive will wear number 1850, which the railroad explains signifies the year the L&N was chartered by the state of Kentucky. The railroad later became part of the Seaboard Coast Line, then part of Chessie System […]

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Dates still to be determined for CRRC delivery of long-delayed MBTA subway cars

Subway train at station

BOSTON — The delivery schedule for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority subway cars being built by Chinese firm CRRC remains undetermined, but MBTA and Massachusetts officials believe the company will eventually complete its troubled order for the railcars. CommonWealth Magazine reports that MBTA CEO Phillip Eng told a Thursday board meeting that he, MBTA Deputy […]

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Victim identified in death at Massachusetts track project

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The contract worker killed in a maintenance-of-way accident earlier this month on state-owned tracks operated by the Housatonic Railroad has been identified as Rodolfo G. Rocha, 51, of Los Fresnos, Texas, the Berkshire Eagle newspaper reports. Survivors include a wife and son. Rocha was hit by track equipment while working in […]

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Rail data firm shows impact of British Columbia fires on CN, CPKC operations

Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City operations have returned to normal in wildfire-ravaged British Columbia, where a fire halted rail traffic for a day last week, according to RailState, a company that tracks freight rail movements across Canada. The Kookipi Creek Fire shut down the railroads’ directional running zone in the Fraser River Canyon […]

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