A train with no name… With the world changing at an accelerating pace, there’s something comforting about standing on a station platform, putting your left foot on the standard Amtrak-issue yellow step stool, and climbing aboard a train. Not any old train, mind you, but a passenger train with a name. A train that carries […]
Magazine: Trains Magazine
Teamsters Canada Rail Conference members reauthorize strikes against CN, CPKC
LAVAL, Quebec — Members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference have voted to reauthorize strikes at Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Canadian National, the union announced Saturday, June 29. Overall, 89.5% of union members participated in the vote, with 98.6% voting to reauthorize the strike, the union said. At CN, conductors, engineers, and yard workers […]
Crew member injured as CPKC train derails in Iowa (additional update)
MIDWAY BEACH, Iowa — One crew member was reported airlifted to a hospital with serious injuries after the derailment of a CPKC train that reportedly ran away on a spur line on Saturday, June 29, near Montpelier, Iowa. The incident occurred about 7 p.m. near Midway Beach in Muscatine County, Chris Jasper, Muscatine County Director […]
Gotthard Base Tunnel set for full reopening Sept. 2
FAIDO, Switzerland — Work in the Gotthard Base Tunnel to repair damage from an August 2023 derailment is complete, SBB, the Swiss Federal Railways, announced Thursday. Plans are to resume full operations through the tunnel on Monday, Sept. 2. The reopening will restore service in less than 2 hours between Zurich and Lugano, and end […]
Amtrak, NJ Transit pledge to work together to address Northeast Corridor issues
NEWARK, N.J. — Amtrak and NJ Transit have committed to work together to address operational issues that have been plaguing both services on the Northeast Corridor, including more frequent inspections of their equipment and the 170 miles of track they share between New York and Trenton, N.J. The two agencies made that pledge after a […]
Durango & Silverton restores full operations
DURANGO, Colo. — Full Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad service to Silverton, Colo., will resume today (Friday, June 28), the railroad announced Thursday afternoon. Service to Silverton, the railroad’s northern endpoint, has been suspended since the morning of June 22, when a rock slide was discovered that had covered the tracks at milepost 485.9, […]
Maryland to choose light rail for Baltimore Red Line project, governor says
BALTIMORE — The planned Red Line transit project in Baltimore will be a light rail system, not bus rapid transit, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Thursday (June 27). The nonprofit Baltimore Banner news site reported the decision ahead of an official announcement planned for today. The Red Line project was killed by former Gov. Larry […]
Virginia Museum of Transportation board members resign
ROANOKE, Va. — Six members of the Virginia Museum of Transportation board of directors have resigned, WDBJ-TV reports. The group submitted letters of resignation at the board’s annual meeting last week. It reportedly included several of those who led the museum’s excursion efforts, leading to speculation about future plans for the steam program with Norfolk […]
Appropriators proposal trims Amtrak fiscal 2025 budget: Analysis
WASHINGTON — The process that determines how much money Amtrak will receive for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2024, began Wednesday with release of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Committee’s “Department of Transportation Appropriation Act of 2025.” Funding levels for the U.S. DOT and its related highway, rail, and […]
Federal court orders FRA to allow BNSF Railway to expand track inspection program
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court has ordered the Federal Railroad Administration to allow BNSF Railway to expand its automated track inspection program while simultaneously reducing the frequency of traditional visual inspections. Railroads are permitted unlimited use of automated track inspection systems that rely on lasers and other technology to find track geometry defects. But […]
OmniTRAX named railroad operator for Indiana port on the Ohio River
MOUNT VERNON, Ind. – OmniTRAX has been named the railroad operator for Ports of Indiana – Mount Vernon. The short line holding company, which operates 27 railroads, will begin serving the 1,200-acre port on Aug. 4. It’s the fourth domestic port in the OmniTRAX network, the company said today. “OmniTRAX is excited to add our […]
Evacuation order lifted after CN train derails at Matteson, Ill. (updated)
MATTESON, Ill. — Authorities ordered an evacuation, then lited it about two hours later after a Canadian National train derailed at the railroad’s busy junction of former Illinois Central and Elgin & Joliet Eastern lines today (June 27) in Matteson, about 25 miles south of downtown Chicago. WGN-TV reports there was a small leak of […]