PRINCETON, N.J. — The nation’s shortest scheduled commuter rail line now has a 50-50 chance of remaining as it is. The Daily Princetonian reports that a study of possible options to replace “Princeton Dinky,” the 2.7-mile electrified NJ Transit line connecting the Princeton University campus to the Northeast Corridor, has reduced four potential options to […]
PHILADELPHIA — The trial of engineer Brandon Bostian, at the controls for the fatal derailment of Amtrak train 188 in 2015, is slated to go to the jury today (Friday, March 4) after the prosecution and defense presented closing arguments on Thursday — although the judge indicated skepticism that the evidence supports the prosecution’s case. […]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — People are vacationing again, and travel spending is close to pre-pandemic 2019 levels. This means as more Americans travel in 2022, tourist and heritage rail attractions can focus on what is normal: selling seats and injecting much-needed cashflow into tourist rail and preservation. This year is likely to be the first season […]
DENVER — Some 30 miles of New York rail line formerly operated by the Saratoga & North Creek Railroad has been sold for $3.33 million to a couple whose company plans to ship titanium ore from a mine on the route. The Albany Times Union reports Doc N Duchess Rails LLC, owned by Carol and […]
SAN CARLOS, Calif. — Bay Area commuter operator Caltrain will begin three weeks of reduced weekday service on March 14 to accommodate electrification of the service’s route between San Francisco and San Jose. Work at the Broadway, Burlingame, San Mateo, Hayward Park, and Hillsdale stations will require single-tracking, which in turn necessitates the schedule reductions. […]
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan — Fertilizer firm Nutrien is asking the Canadian government to block a potential Canadian Pacific strike, saying an interruption to rail service could lead to smaller crop harvests, Bloomberg reports. Teamster Canada Rail Coalition members voted in favor of a strike against CP, the union announced earlier this week [see “Teamsters Canava vote …,” […]
WASHINGTON — Travelers already booked on some Amtrak long-distance trains in April and May are being advised today (Thursday, March 3) to rebook their trips as the passenger carrier extends its frequency reductions on seven routes. Amtrak had cut service from daily to five days a week on most of its long-distance routes in January, […]
FORT WORTH – Analysts and industry observers suspected that BNSF Railway had to pay a pretty penny to buy out Montana Rail Link’s long-term lease on the former Northern Pacific main line. It turns out they were right. BNSF’s financial report suggests the railroad paid MRL around $2 billion to tear up the lease well […]
The Powder River Basin was North America’s last, great railroading frontier. By the time of Fred W. Frailey’s article in 1989, PRB was served by Class I railroads where before railroads scarcely traveled — all in the later half of the 20th century. Enter your email address below to read this classic 24-page article that […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has set a schedule for submission of evidence and arguments in a long-running disagreement between Amtrak and Canadian National over Amtrak operations on CN routes. The case dates to a July 20, 2013, filing by Amtrak asking the board to establish terms and compensation for use of CN’s rail […]
WASHINGTON — Shippers say they will support the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger so long as regulatory approval of the first Class I combination in two decades includes conditions that would protect competition. The broadest coalition of shipper groups — the American Chemistry Council, The Fertilizer Institute, and the National Industrial Transportation League — in a […]
CALGARY, Alberta — Members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference have approved a possible strike against Canadian Pacific, the union reported to members after a strike vote concluded on Feb. 28. Union officials said 3,062 ballots were sent out to members. While it did not report the number of ballots returned, 96.7% of those voting […]
