The owner of private car Hollywood Beach, a 1956 Seaboard Air Line observation car, is offering three trips open to the public this summer and fall that will feature guides from Midwest Rail Rangers, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization offering onboard educational programs in the Midwest. Trips on tap are: St. Louis-Kansas City, Mo., and return, […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic in May saw carload traffic at its highest level in more than 18 months, based on weekly averages, according to the latest press release from the Association of American Railroads. Overall, carload traffic in May 2021 was up 30.4% over the same month in 2020, while intermodal traffic was up […]
TREGO, Wis. — The Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad is planning an outreach tour along the original route of the Mark Twain Zephyr in July, visiting communities in western Illinois, eastern Iowa, and Missouri to seek out people who rode or worked on the train, and to provide updates on the progress in restoring the historic […]
Missouri River Runner gets second round trip for remainder of year as of July 19 Amtrak’s Missouri River Runner will restore its second daily round trip as of July 19. State funding and federal coronavirus relief funds will maintain the two-round-trip schedule between St. Louis and Kansas City through the remainder of 2021. “We appreciate […]
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Light rail service in the San Jose area may be suspended for months as a result of last week’s mass shooting that left 10 Valley Transportation Authority workers, including the shooter, dead. That is the word from an agency spokeswoman, the San Jose Mercury News reports, as VTA determines how to […]
FBI agent faces attempted murder charge for shooting on Metrorail train An FBI agent has been charged with second-degree attempted murder as a result of a 2020 shooting aboard a DC Metro subway train. The Washington Post reports Eduardo Valdivia, 37, was also charged with first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and use of a firearm in […]
NJ transit adds weekday trains, weekend Gladstone Branch trains, North Jersey Coast shuttles NJ Transit announced it would add 60 trains to its commuter rail schedules as of June 6, including select weekday trains throughout the system, weekend Gladstone Branch trains, and additional Long Branch-Bay Head shuttle trains on the North Jersey Coast Line. Weekday […]
TACOMA, Wash. — The engineer who was at the controls for the fatal Amtrak Cascades derailment in 2017 says he’s still trying to get his operating license back, although admitting that’s unlikely, and says he relives the accident “all day” during his waking hours. Steven Brown, the 59-year-old engineer who was fired by Amtrak as […]
MONTREAL— Against a backdrop assuring continued service interruptions, VIA Rail Canada released its annual pre-recorded public meeting last week, with brief reports from Chairman Francoise Bertrand, President and CEO Cynthia Garneau, and Chief Financial Officer Marie-Claude Cardin. The meeting came as the Canada-U.S. border remains closed through at least June 21, Canadian vaccinations are lagging, […]
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Valley Transportation Authority light rail service remains suspended indefinitely as a result of the May 26 mass shooting at the VTA maintenance yard, and the substitute bus service which had been operating since the event is being discontinued. The agency reports the bus service is ending because of limited staffing. “Instead, […]
Transport Canada issues series of new rules on track maintenance Transport Canada issued new rules on track inspection and management on Monday updating the agency’s Rules Respecting Track Safety on a number of fronts, to be addressed in three stages. As outlined in a ministerial order, the first stage addresses training, verification, and record-keeping for […]
WASHINGTON — Transit projects would receive $13.5 billion and Amtrak would get $2.7 billion as part of $88 billion devoted to the U.S. Department of Transportation under the Biden Administration budget proposal submitted to Congress today. “This budget reflects our Administration’s priorities, and responds to our country’s needs,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a […]
