SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority could resume light rail service by the end of July under a five-point plan begun by the agency KTVU-TV reports VTA fulfilled the first stage of the plan last week when employees were able to return to the Guadalupe rail yard in San Jose, the […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic remained strong in June, with overall carload and intermodal traffic running 14.5% ahead of the same month in 2020. Year-to-date traffic at the end of the second quarter was up 13.7% compared to pandemic-depressed totals for the first half of 2020, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. […]
CHICAGO — As of today, top speeds are rising from 79 to 90 mph on much of Amtrak’s Chicago-St. Louis Lincoln Service corridor. With signal system testing complete and certified for reliability by the Federal Railroad Administration, the higher speed will be allowed between Laraway Road, south of Joliet, Ill., and CP Wann, two miles […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak and Siemens Mobility have reached agreement on contracts for 73 to 83 new trainsets to replace Amfleet I and related equipment on Northeast Corridor and state-supported services. A press release from Siemens characterizes the deal as worth $3.4 billion, while Amtrak says the agreement is for $7.3 billion, including a long […]
WASHINGTON — Responding to comments made to the Surface Transportation Board on their voting trust proposal, Canadian National and Kansas City Southern have made their final case for approval of a voting trust while the CN-KCS merger is being considered by regulators, rebutting at length claims made by rival Canadian Pacific. The Tuesday filing, available […]
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A San Jose rail historical group has announced plans to relocate a Southern Pacific steam locomotive, roundhouse, and turntable to the Pacific Locomotive Association’s Niles Canyon Railway in Sunol, Calif. The California Trolley and Railroad Corp. will move partially restored Southern Pacific 4-6-2 No. 2479, along with the roundhouse and its […]
TROIS-RIVIÉRES, Quebec — Canada’s Transport Minister, Omar Alghabra, announced Tuesday that the government was taking the first steps in a long-discussed plan to build a “high-frequency” rail line serving the Toronto-Quebec City corridor, steps which could see procurements begin this fall for the proposed passenger-only trackage in part of the corridor. In advance of a […]
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Brightline has purchased 110 acres at the south end of the Las Vegas strip for the terminal for its planned high speed rail line to Southern California, the company has announced. “Today’s announcement represents another important milestone for the project and is tangible evidence of our commitment and progress,” Brightline Holdings […]
EVANSTON, Ill. — A new report from the Northwestern University Transpotation Center says the U.S. freight rail proved to be reliable and resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic, even as other parts of the nation’s supply chain struggled. The report, available here, was prepared by Northwestern’s Joseph Schofer, Hani Mahmassani, Max Ng, and Breton Johnson. It […]
NEW ORLEANS — CSX Transportation has been ordered to pay more than $220,000 for violating the Federal Railroad Safety Act for firing a worker for reporting safety concerns. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration found in an investigation that the railroad had “demonstrated a pattern of retaliation” in firing the worker in December 2019 […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation on Friday filed an amended version of its application to acquire Pan Am Railways with the Surface Transportation Board, addressing additional information requested by the regulatory body. The STB had rejected the initial application in May, saying it failed to “include all of the information needed” for the required […]
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Despite increasing public frustration at the lack of service, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light rail operations remain halted in the wake of a May 26 mass shooting, and the agency has not offered any estimate when it may return. The San Jose Spotlight reports that a VTA representative said the […]
