LONDON — Construction work has begun along the entire 140-mile length of the first stage of Britain’s new 200-plus-mph high speed rail line, known as High Speed 2 (HS2), which will link London with cities in northern England and allow faster through trains to Scotland as well. The project has been developed in several phases […]
Section: News & Reviews
MTA to resume process of bringing Metro-North service to Penn Station
NEW YORK — Work will resume on the project to bring Metro-North commuter rail service to New York’s Penn Station, a project which had been paused over funding uncertainty and because of the COVID-19 pandemic. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Thursday that the resumption of the process will see selection of a firm […]
Digest: NJ Transit settles lawsuits from Hoboken crash
NJ Transit settles suits from fatal 2016 crash at Hoboken Terminal NJ Transit has settled several lawsuits stemming from the fatal 2016 accident when a train ran through an end-of-track barricade at its Hoboken Terminal. NJ.com reports the agency settled the suit of the estate of the young woman who was killed by falling debris, […]
Digest: Test trains set to run Sunday on Point Defiance Bypass
Test trains set to run on Point Defiance Bypass Sound Transit and Amtrak will run test trains over the Point Defiance Bypass on Sunday, May 16, as part of continuing efforts to prepare for passenger service on the line in the Tacoma, Wash., area. Trains will run between the Tacoma Dome stadium and Nisqually Junction, […]
Kansas City Southern accepts Canadian National merger offer (updated)
MONTREAL — The battle for Kansas City Southern appears to be over. KCS on Thursday accepted Canadian National’s $33.6 billion bid to create the first railroad linking Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. KCS said it would break the $29 billion merger agreement it reached in March with Canadian Pacific in favor of CN’s “superior offer.” […]
CN expected to sweeten offer for Kansas City Southern
MONTREAL — Canadian National is expected to sweeten its offer to acquire Kansas City Southern, the Wall Street Journal reported today. CN would, at a minimum, pick up the tab for the $700 million breakup fee that KCS would owe Canadian Pacific for backing out of their friendly $29 billion deal, the newspaper said, citing […]
Digest: Amtrak, ATF offer $10,000 reward in Beech Grove fire case
$10,000 reward offered in investigation of Amtrak shop fire Amtrak and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and successful prosecution of the person or persons responsible for the May 2 fire at Amtrak’s Beech Grove (Ind.) Heavy Maintenance Facility, WXIN-TV […]
Digest: Officials in Colorado county say they oppose passenger rail district
El Paso, Colo., county board voices opposition to passenger rail district Officials in Colorado’s El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs, have indicated their opposition to a proposed Front Range Rail Passenger District, expressing concern that taxes raised by the district could be better used to fix local roads or could be spent elsewhere in […]
Digest: Customs agency announces $46 million upgrade for rail inspections at border
Customs and Border Protection to introduce new rail cargo scanners at 12 key border crossings The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has announced a $46 million program to install new technology to inspect rail cargo at a dozen sites around the U.S. The new high energy scanners will us linear accelerators to generate X-rays […]
U.S. rail traffic remains well above 2020 levels
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail freight traffic continues to far outpace 2020 levels, when traffic was depressed by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and remains stable by week-to-week measures in 2021. Statistics from the Association of American Railroads for the week ending May 8 show U.S. railroads moved 236,019 carloads, a 27.6% increase over […]
ScaleTrains.com N scale Union Pacific Standard Turbine and tender
ScaleTrains.com recently sent us a sample of the N scale Union Pacific gas turbine locomotive. Check out the details and sounds on this exciting model! […]
Memorial Day weekend open house will show Mark Twain Zephyr progress
TREGO, Wis. — The Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad will open its doors on Memorial Day weekend to give visitors a look at its ongoing renovation process for the Mark Twain Zephyr, the articulated Burlington Lines streamliner being brought back to life after more than 60 years of storage, inactivity, and deterioration. The open house will […]