Infrastructure bill’s bridge program will address issues with 15,000 structures

Passenger train crosses bridge

WASHINGTON — A record U.S. Department of Transportation investment to modernize bridges will keep public transit and railroads moving, as the launch of the Federal Highway Administration’s bridge program invests more than $27 billion to repair 15,000 bridges nationwide. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs act, includes an incentive for states […]

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Indiana Senate to consider rail passenger bill

Passenger train arrives at station where people are waiting

INDIANAPOLIS — A bill seeking to create a commission to explore increased passenger rail operations in Indiana will be heard in the state Senate this week, WXIN-TV reports. Senate Bill 13 would create a commission including representatives from the Indiana Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Adminstration, state General Assembly, and rail advocacy organizations. It would […]

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When I cast my ballot for the RS3

NKPRS3s

Nickel Plate 535 and 555 make a persuasive case for the RS3 as they accelerate east at Malinta, Ohio, in 1960. J. David Ingles Many of us who cotton to such things probably can pinpoint the exact time, or place, where we realized we had a favorite locomotive type. For me, the locomotive was the […]

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Colorado Joint Line short train

A short train moving past cows in a cloud-covered prairie scene.

Modelers with small spaces, please consider the above Colorado Joint Line short train as one prototype you might want to model. Back in 2017, I was chasing trains from Denver south to Colorado Springs and Pueblo along Colorado’s famed Joint Line before a rail industry conference began. I was told something like “trains run like […]

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Australia’s BHP to buy battery-electrics from Wabtec, Progress Rail

Gray and red locomotive on bridge

BHP Western Australia Iron Ore has placed orders for battery-electric locomotives from both Wabtec and Progress Rail, becoming the first company to order battery-electric units from both major North American manufacturers. BHP will purchase two of Wabtec’s FLXdrive battery-electric locomotives, becoming the second Australian firm in a week and third overall to purchase those units, […]

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Legislator seeks state status for Virginia Museum of Transportation

Logo of the Virginia Museum of Transportation

ROANOKE, Va. — A state legislator is seeking to gain status as a state agency for the Virginia Museum of Transportation, which would make the Roanoke attraction eligible for state funding. The website Cardinal News reports the museum is already recognized as the commonwealth’s official transportation museum, but that distinction carries no legal status that […]

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UP train derails in area struck by thefts

Union Pacific logo with Building America slogan

LOS ANGELES — Seventeen cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Saturday in LA’s Lincoln Heights neighborhood, an area in which trains have been struck by widespread cargo thefts. KABC-TV reports it was told by Union Pacific that no injuries were reported and the cause of the derailment was under investigation. No information was immediately […]

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Amtrak conductor killed in apparent fall from train

Amtrak logo.

WESTERLY, R.I. — An Amtrak conductor died Saturday after apparently falling from a train while preparing for a station stop. WJAR-TV reports the 26-year-old woman was found dead along the tracks near the Westerly station after Northeast Regional train No. 163, bound from Boston to Washington, stopped because other crew members realized the conductor was […]

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MARTA CEO dies when struck by train

Head-and-shoulders photo of man in suit

ATLANTA — Jeffrey Parker, CEO of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, died Friday night. He was 56. Parker died by suicide, the agency said, when he was struck by a train at MARTA’s East Lake Station. “The MARTA Board of Directors grieves the shocking death of our GM/CEO Jeff Parker who has died by […]

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VIA cuts corridor operations, citing COVID

VIA Rail Canada logo

MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada will reduce service in its Quebec City-Windsor, Ontario, corridor beginning Jan. 19  because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the passenger carrier announced. “These decisions, while difficult, are consistent with the balanced approach we have maintained throughout the pandemic in order to fulfill our important public service mandate while […]

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Sonoma-Marin commuter agency to keep freight service in house

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit logo

PETALUMA, Calif. — The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit board has voted to for an in-house freight rail operation, while also planning to end tank-car storage that brings in some $500,000 annually. The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reports the board elected to operate the freight service it gained by buying out contract operator Northwestern Pacific [see “Bay […]

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