Metra returns to pre-pandemic Saturday schedules on seven lines May 29 Metra will restore full Saturday service on seven of its 11 lines as of May 29. Returning to pre-pandemic levels, in place of the current schedule used on both Saturdays and Sundays, will be the BNSF, Milwaukee North and West lines; Rock Island District; […]
Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum adds two BL2 locomotives
NORTH JUDSON, Ind. — The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum will add two rare EMD BL2 locomotives to its collection through a lease with the engines’ private owner. The two locomotives, built in 1949 for Maine’s Bangor & Aroostock Railroad, previously operated on New York’s Saratoga & North Creek Railway. Only 59 of the locomotives were […]
Digest: Restoration of Illnois Amtrak routes set for July
Full restoration of state-supported Amtrak routes in Illinois set for July 19 The state of Illinois announced plans to restore all service on its four state-supported Amtrak lines as of July 19 as part of the Rebuild Illinois capital plan. The restoration of full schedules on the Chicago-Quincy, Chicago-Carbondale, and Chicago-St. Louis routes in July […]
U.S. rail traffic remains far above 2020 levels, stable within 2021
WASHINGTON — U.S. railroads continue to show significant traffic increases over pandemic-depressed figures from 2020, according to the latest figures from the Association of American Railroads. Statistics for the week ending May 15 show U.S. railroads moved 242,806 carloads, a 31.6% increase over the corresponding week in 2020, and 291,066 containers and trailers, a 25.6% […]
Norfolk Southern executive says ‘one-person crew’ is a misnomer (updated)
NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk Southern’s chief financial officer says the term “one-person crew” is a misnomer that has only stoked controversy about the rail industry’s proposal to use ground-based conductors on routes protected by positive train control. “It’s unfortunate the terminology on one-man crew or one-person crew … because I don’t think it’s really the […]
High speed operator Eurostar survives financial crisis
LONDON — Eurostar, the high speed passenger rail operator that runs trains via the Channel Tunnel from London to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam, has secured new financial backing from a consortium of banks after months of uncertainty. Since March 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic has led to severe cuts in Eurostar service, with often no more […]
Canadian National has no plans to drop bid for KCS, despite concerns of major investor
MONTREAL – Canadian National has no plans to back off from its proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern and remains confident that it can obtain the necessary regulatory approvals to create the first railroad linking Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, CEO JJ Ruest said today. Ruest’s comments came a day after CN’s fifth-largest shareholder, TCI […]
Railfanning Chicago: BNSF’s shoofly (updated)
Trains Senior Editor David Lassen spends much of his free time in the Chicago area. This is the first in a series of Trains.com articles on his favorite rail photography locations. UPDATED Dec. 15, 2021, with removal of shoofly. BNSF Railway’s celebrated “racetrack” — the triple-track mainline of the Chicago Division between downtown Chicago and […]
Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp’s C&O No. 2716 restoration
The Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp., based in Ravenna, Ky., is hard at work to restore its prized possession, Chesapeake & Ohio 2-8-4 No. 2716, while also making improvements to its property to better serve the engine. Volunteers installed new tracks to be able to move No. 2716 outside the shop to better accommodate disassembly. President […]
BNSF hit by washouts, flash flooding in Southern Plains region
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway is reporting track washouts in several locations and other service disruptions because of severe weather and flash flooding throughout the Southern Plains portion of its network. The Longview Subdivision in Texas and Cherokee Subdivision between Tulsa, Okla., and Springfield, Mo., are currently affected. Service is expected to be restored […]
BNSF and UP at loggerheads over Gulf Coast haulage traffic in Texas
WASHINGTON — BNSF Railway and Union Pacific are locked in a dispute over BNSF haulage rights traffic that moves over UP rails along the Texas Gulf Coast. As part of UP’s acquisition of Southern Pacific in 1996, BNSF gained access to customers along UP between Houston and Brownsville, Texas, which also is a gateway to […]
Digest: DC Metrorail cars remain sidelined after separation incidents
Six months after being sidelined, DC Metro cars remain out of service DC Metro’s 6000-series railcars, sidelined since last November after incidents in which trains separated while in motion, will remain out of service. The Washington Post reports the 184-car fleet of 20-year-old, Alstom-built cars will remain out of use indefinitely because of issues with […]