Amtrak auctioning off remaining Talgo equipment

Passenger train along rocky coast line

BEECH GROVE, Ind. — Amtrak is auctioning off its Talgo Series VI trainsets, retired in the wake of the fatal derailment of an Amtrak Cascades train in December 2017. A “Material and Pricing Schedule” for the auction lists 28 cars for sale: two baggage cars, two bistro cars, two dining cars, 11 coaches, two cars […]

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Amtrak extends storm cancellations for Silver Star, Auto Train

Passenger train meets commuter train with station in background

WASHINGTON — In a Tuesday evening update to its original advisory, Amtrak has now cancelled all northbound and southbound departures of the New York-Miami Silver Star, and the Lorton, Va.-Sanford, Fla., Auto Train, through Friday because of the approaching Hurricane Ian. Also cancelled is the Saturday, Oct. 1, northbound departure of the Silver Star from […]

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Parties in Amtrak Gulf Coast case granted more time for mediation

Passenger train with theater car at rear stopped at station

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Proceedings on Tuesday granted a request by all parties involved to extend board-sponsored mediation regarding Amtrak’s effort to launch Gulf Coast passenger service to Oct. 11. The request was granted without additional comment. Amtrak, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and the Alabama State Port Authority had filed the […]

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Silver Star, Auto Train cancelled in advance of Hurricane Ian

Train waiting to leave station

WASHINGTON — With Hurricane Ian bearing down on Florida and the Southeast, Amtrak has cancelled Auto Train in both directions Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 27 and 28. Amtrak also says in an online advisory that the New York-Tampa-Miami Silver Star that departed today (Monday, Sept. 26) is terminating at Jacksonville, Fla., Tuesday morning; its northbound […]

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Checked baggage dropped from two Amtrak trains (corrected)

Train arrives at station with baggage cart in foreground

WASHINGTON — Amtrak says checked baggage service is being dropped this fall from two state-supported routes “due to equipment shortages” — even though the company received 70 new baggage cars as part of its 125-car Viewliner II equipment order from CAF USA in 2014-15. The company now says, however, that a notice posted in at […]

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Siemens optimistic about US passenger market

Two passenger trains, one white and blue, one white and yellow, on display tracks outside exhibition hall.

BERLIN — The prospects for a number of transformative passenger projects, as well as the potential for more rail electrification, have the CEO of Siemens Mobility in North America upbeat as he considers his company’s future. Marc Buncher heads a company that has grown rapidly in North America, with its Sacramento, Calif., manufacturing site employing […]

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A bad week for the California Zephyr

Passenger train with bilevel cars at station

CHICAGO — Amtrak’s westbound California Zephyr has been cancelled this Sunday, Sept. 25 — continuing a week of disruptions for the service between Chicago and Emeryville, Calif. The sequence that led to Sunday’s cancellation began with the westbound departure of Monday, Sept. 19, which sustained delays totaling 16 hours, 35 minutes on its way to […]

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Amtrak sets goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045

Passenger train led by black locomotive with blue and white stripes

WASHINGTON — Amtrak has pledged to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its network by 2045, the company announced Thursday. “With new equipment, modernized stations, and net zero emissions, Amtrak can lead the drive toward sustainable transportation throughout the nation,” CEO Stephen Gardner said in a press release. The company said its efforts to […]

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