NEW YORK — The plan to build an Air Train connection between La Guardia Airport and rail and subway stations in Queens has been put on hold by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The New York Daily News reports Port Authority officials said Tuesday that the plan would be halted while […]
CN, Watco ask STB to unfreeze Wisconsin, Michigan branch line sales before winter (updated)
WASHINGTON – Canadian National and Watco have urged the Surface Transportation Board to lift the hold it placed on the transfer of nearly 500 miles of former Wisconsin Central branch lines. Watco, in a filing on Tuesday, told the board that it has been preparing to launch service on the routes in Wisconsin and the neighboring […]
AAR challenges points made in STB chairman’s speech to shippers
WASHINGTON — Association of American Railroads CEO Ian Jefferies has taken issue with many of the points Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman raised his speech to a shipper conference last month. Oberman told the North American Rail Shippers that the railroad industry’s drive for ever-increasing profits resulted in a loss of market share […]
Nevada Northern to reacquire two early diesels
ELY, Nev. — The Nevada Northern Railway Museum is planning to bring two of its original diesel locomotives back to Ely after almost four decades. SD7 No. 401, the only locomotive the Nevada Northern purchased from EMD, and Alco RSD4 No. 201, built in 1951 for Kennecott Copper Co., were purchased by the railroad in […]
Welding work advances Reading No. 2100 project
CLEVELAND – Restoration of Reading T1 4-8-4 No. 2100 by the American Steam Railroad Preservation Association, a 501c3 non-profit, has reached another milestone with completion of welding work within the firebox grate area. The work included welding of 548 new side sheet flexible and rigid staybolts, the welding of the inner sheets to the mud […]
CSX introduces new train for first-responder training
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX has introduced its Responder Incident Training train, which will offer hazardous material training for first responders across its 23-state rail network. “CSX is excited to roll out our own customized fleet of rail training cars to educate emergency responders and government officials on how to safely respond to railroad emergencies,” Chris […]
KCS turns to Commtrex to improve transload network
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern will use rail logistics platform Commtrex to improve the visibility and connectivity of its network of more than 100 transload facilities in 19 U.S. and Mexican states. The agreement announced Monday joins the railroad’s transload network with a platform that allows shippers to find transload centers by location, […]
Friends of East Broad Top wraps up Rockhill shops work, looks south
SALTILLO, Pa. – The Friends of the East Broad Top, an auxiliary group whose membership has exploded since the rebirth of the narrow gauge East Broad Top Railroad starting in 2020, announced over the weekend that it is moving forward to help the railroad’s owner, the EBT Foundation, reopen its main line south 20 miles […]
East Broad Top fully reopens tourist-era line in time for Friends Reunion
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – East Broad Top Railroad staff and volunteers went the extra mile – literally – to fully reopen the company’s line from here to its tourist-era (1961-2011) wye and picnic area at Colgate Grove, just in time for this past weekend’s Friends of The East Broad Top annual reunion. Since 2020, when […]
Analysis: Amtrak fiscal 2021 results favor longer routes
WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s fiscal 2021 results saw ticket revenue and ridership both off 63% from 2019, the last year when the October-September fiscal calendar was not impacted by COVID-19 travel restrictions and massive service cuts. Long-distance trains, however, suffered less of a setback than state-supported and Northeast Corridor operations. For the fiscal year ending Sept. […]
News photo: New Brightline equipment en route to Florida
HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. — Brightline’s newest equipment is making its way to Florida. On Friday, Oct. 8, Union Pacific ET44AH No. 2603 leads a new trainset, operating as CSX train CSX W989 on the Henderson Subdivision at CSX Casky yard in Hopkinsville, Ky. The new equipment — to be used as service is expanded to Orlando, […]
Winterail set to return in March 2022
CORVALLIS, Ore. — After two years of COVID-19 disruptions, Winterail is set to return in March 2022 at Corvallis High School with a two-day event featuring shows for 2020, 2021, and 2022. The 2020 show will be held on Saturday, March 19, with digital presentations from noon to 10 p.m. and a collectables sale from […]