In the past, railroad dining car meals were something to write home about, positively. A notable summary of this can be found in the lyrics of the popular song Chattanooga Choo-Choo, with its assertion that “dinner in the diner, nothing could be finer.” As private-railroad passenger service declined in the 1960s, however, this […]
Type of Train: Passenger/Transit
Slide activity again halts Amtrak Cascades service (updated)
SEATTLE — For the second consecutive weekend, Amtrak Cascades service has been disrupted between Portland and Seattle because of a landslide. According to an Amtrak service advisory, all Cascade trains are cancelled today (Saturday, Jan. 27) and Sunday, Jan. 28, between Seattle and Portland with alternate transportation (buses) provided. Coast Starlight trains with originate or […]
Officials unsure when rail service through San Clemente, Calif., will resume (updated)
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Officials have no estimate when rail service might resume past the site of a landslide near the San Clemente Pier, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. A Wednesday, Jan. 24, slide destroyed a bridge on a pedestrian trail, sending debris and parts of the bridge onto the Surf Line tracks below. The […]
Tri-Rail increases MiamiCentral shuttles
MIAMI — Beginning this Saturday, Jan. 27, South Florida’s West Palm Beach-Miami International Airport Tri-Rail service will be connected to downtown Miami with 13 weekday round-trip shuttle trains and 12 round trips on the weekends. Since the service’s Jan. 13 launch, the commuter authority has been gradually ramping up service to Brightline’s MiamiCentral facility [see […]
Classic Trains Film Archive | Midwestern and Eastern U.S. cities, J. David Ingles Reel UNK2
Classic Trains Film Archive | Midwestern and Eastern U.S. cities, J. David Ingles Reel UNK2 – Ride along with J. David Ingles in this first installment of Classic Trains Film Archive! Through his vintage color footage, you’ll see Amtrak action in southeast Wisconsin and central Illinois, then ride along eastbound on the Amtrak National Limited […]
MBTA to shut down portions of Red, Green lines in February
BOSTON — A 10-day shutdown of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Red Line between the Alewife and Harvard stations is the centerpiece of MBTA’s plans for major maintenance projects in February, the latest phase in a more than year-long effort to eliminate the accumulated slow orders on the agency’s rail transit system. Also, an 18-day […]
Loss of radio communication played role in New York City subway collision
WASHINGTON — A supervisor operating an out-of-service train lost radio communication with his flagger and did not receive a message to stop, passing a red signal and colliding with another train in a Jan. 4 incident involving two trains on New York City Transit’s No. 1 subway line, according to the preliminary accident report issued […]
Slide issues again halt Surfliner, Metrolink service through San Clemente, Calif.
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink commuter rail service has once again been suspended in the San Clemente area because of landslide concerns, a long-running issue in the area over the last two years. The advisory page on the Surfliner website says tracks have been closed near the San Clemente Pier “until […]
Downeaster’s Rockland branch experiment encounters equipment snag, Amtrak involvement delays (updated)
BRUNSWICK, Maine — A proposal to use a Rail Diesel Car to offer year-round connections on a former Maine Central branch line from Rockland, Maine to a rendezvous with Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority’s Amtrak-operated Downeaster at Brunswick, Maine, is being re-evaluated after the RDC suffered a debilitating breakdown last fall. Midcoast Railservice, the carrier with […]
NJ Transit proposes 15% fare increases, sets hearings
NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit is proposing fare increases of 15% for fiscal 2025 to address a projected $106.6 million budget deficit, the agency announced Wednesday, and will hold a series of 10 hearings on the proposal beginning March 4. The fare increase would take effect July 1, 2024. The proposal also includes annual 3% […]
Troop train Pullman porter
At Fort George G. Meade, Md., the porter assigned to the rear Pullman of a troop train watches as supplies are loaded aboard the kitchen car of another train. It’s May 1953 — two months before the end of the Korean War. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Senate confirms three nominees for Amtrak board
WASHINGTON — For the first time in more than eight years, the Amtrak board of directors has new members. The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed the nominations of Christopher Koos, Anthony Coscia, and Joel Szabat to serve on the board, the first time the Senate has confirmed board members since 2015. Koos, the mayor of […]