Reassessment finds more rider support for Massachusetts East-West rail plan

More Thursday morning rail news in brief: Ridership estimates improve for Massachusetts East-West rail, but still short of federal funding threshold A long-proposed rail service between Boston and Springfield, Mass., could attract more riders than previously estimated — but still not enough to qualify for federal funding, according to Massachusetts Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack. The […]

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Maine museum begins fundraising to build new locomotive

ALNA, Maine — The Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum has kicked off a fundraising campaign to build a new steam locomotive. The new machine, No. 11, would be a faithful reproduction of the original railroad’s No. 7, a 1907 Baldwin 2-4-4RT Forney. No. 7 was damaged in a roundhouse fire in 1933 and was […]

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Austin approves transit expansion plan

Thursday morning rail news in brief: Austin approves ‘Project Connect’ transit plan The Austin, Texas, city council and board of transit agency Capital Metro on Wednesday approved the Project Connect transit plan, a major expansion of the city’s public transportation that will include three new light rail lines — with a subway section in downtown […]

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Alberta proposes Calgary-Banff rail service

Blue flag with centered crest showing mountains and wheat

More Wednesday morning rail news in brief: Alberta will study feasibility of Calgary-Banff rail line The government of Alberta announced Tuesday that it will study the feasibility of creating rail service between Calgary and the Rocky Mountain community of Banff, a project which would boost the area’s tourism industry. Global News reports the provincial government […]

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Class I officials say traffic shows early signs of recovery

Railroad volumes are beginning to show signs of early recovery after the sharp downturn that accompanied the coronavirus pandemic, executives from four Class I railroads told an investor conference on Tuesday. Officials from Canadian National, CSX Transportation, Kansas City Southern, and Union Pacific all said the resumption of North American auto production and its impact […]

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Survey finds support for expanded Metra North Central Service

More Tuesday morning rail news in brief: Survey finds support for increased service on Metra’s North Central line A new survey says riders and businesses on Metra’s North Central Service, between Chicago Union Station and Antioch, Ill., would like to see weekend service and increased weekday frequencies — but the survey was conducted before the […]

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Illinois trip on ‘Texas Eagle’ provides look at passenger travel during pandemic, illustrates challenges of reduced consists

passenger train conductor scanning tickets

NORMAL, Ill. — “It’s definitely getting better,” Amtrak conductor Keith Inglesby says, considering ridership during a recent trip aboard the Texas Eagle. “A month ago, if we had, say, 50 people scheduled, maybe 37 would actually make it,” he says. In contrast, Inglesby counted only five no-shows in addition to the 90 ticketed passengers booked […]

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