Page 767 – Trains

Union Pacific to resume fare collection on Metra lines as of June 1

Passengers walking down platform after disembarking from commuter train

CHICAGO — Union Pacific will resume collecting fares on the three routes it operates for Metra on June 1 — about a year after the rest of the Metra system began doing so, and more than six months after Metra sued UP over its fare collection policies. Streetsblog Chicago reports that UP conductors began informing […]

Canadian National announces competing bid for Kansas City Southern (updated)

Map of combined Canadian National-Kansas City Southern system

Let the bidding war begin. Canadian National today topped rival Canadian Pacific’s $29 billion offer for Kansas City Southern in what one analyst called “an aggressive move.” CN’s $33.7 billion offer is a 21% premium to the deal CP reached with KCS last month. CN is offering KCS investors $325 per share, including $200 per […]

‘Amtrak Cascades’ to add two round trips on May 24

Talgo trainset in Amtrak Cascades paint scheme

SEATTLE – After months of periodic sellouts at the 50% capacity limit on a single Seattle-Eugene, Ore., round trip — the only daily Cascades corridor service for more than a year — the Washington and Oregon Departments of Transportation plan to add two additional round trips on May 24. But because Talgo, Amtrak, and the […]

Long Island Rail Road announces plan to test battery-electric equipment

Blue and yellow diesel pulling commuter train

OYSTER BAY, N.Y. — The Long Island Rail Road will test the use of battery-electric railcars on its Oyster Bay Branch, the first step in a process that could lead to the end of diesel-powered trains on the commuter railroad. LIRR President Phillip Eng announced the plan at a Monday press conference, saying the commuter […]

Digest: BC agency TransLink outlines ambitious long-term expansion plans

SkyTrain network could double under TransLink long-term expansion plans British Columbia transit agency TransLink has unveiled options for long-term expansion that could double the size of the SkyTrain rail transit system, or see more than 400 additional kilometers (240-plus miles) of SkyTrain, light rail, and bus rapid transit routes. The website Daily Hive reports the […]

Railroads take steps to ease intermodal congestion

Pockets of congestion and overall high volumes are slowing most railroads’ intermodal networks, prompting BNSF Railway, Union Pacific, and Norfolk Southern to take steps to manage capacity. BNSF, the largest intermodal carrier, announced several changes designed to ease congestion at key terminals beginning next week. BNSF will implement day-of-week in-gate windows at its Hobart terminal […]

Kansas City, Mo., is one of America’s top rail hubs

Locomotive hauls a train on yard tracks under a bridge backlit by low angle sunlight.

Who realizes that Kansas City is one of the U.S.’s main rail hubs, the second busiest and second by annual tonnage? Chicago wins by a small margin. While declines in coal shipments have likely ended Kansas City’s three-decade dominance in rail tonnage, the difference between the two cities remains about 3%, says the Association […]