DALLAS — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is backtracking from a letter telling Japan’s prime minister that the Texas Central high speed rail project has his full support after the group opposing the project released the letter and said the governor had been misled about the status of the project. The Dallas Morning News reports that Abbott, […]
Magazine: Trains Magazine
News Photo: New Coaster locomotives begin testing
San Diego’s North County Transit District has received the first part of its eight-locomotive order for new Siemens SC-44 Chargers for Coaster commuter train service, and began testing the weekend of Oct. 4-5, leading short test trains on runs between Oceanside and San Onofre, Calif. Five of the locomotives are slated to enter service next […]
Digest: North Dakota announces launch of intermodal service
Thursday morning rail news: Governor announces BNSF intermodal service for North Dakota North Dakota will gain direct intermodal access to international markets for the first time through a BNSF Railway facility in Minot. Gov. Doug Burgum made the announcement Wednesday, saying that the service to begin next week will be the culmination of a more […]
Digest: Honolulu council may withdraw financial support for rail project
More Thursday morning rail news: Honolulu council begins process of revoking financial support for rail project The Honolulu City Council has begun the process of revoking its financial commitment toward construction of the city’s new rail system, following an earlier decision to withdraw from its part in the public-private partnership that would award the project’s […]
Chicago Transit Authority begins testing new CRRC cars
CHICAGO — The first Chicago Transit Authority cars being built by CRRC Sifang America have begun testing. The two-car trainset of 7000-series cars, Nos. 7005-7006, was conducting tests Thursday in the area of the Bryn Mayr station on the CTA Red Line. The first cars were delivered to the CTA’s Skokie Shops in August. The […]
Amtrak increases funding request to Congress, warns of more cuts without aid
In a letter to Congress, Amtrak has requested up to $4.857 billion for fiscal 2021 — an increase from its previous request for pandemic-related aid to supplement its usual funding — and warns of more cuts without such aid In the letter, Amtrak President and CEO Bill Flynn writes “ridership is not returning as quickly […]
A winning formula: Short lines go beyond just being ‘the railroad’
The four railroads that earned short line association business development awards this year have one thing in common: They all gained new traffic by going beyond merely moving freight from Point A to Point B. Officials from the Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad, Delmarva Central Railroad, The Indiana Rail Road, and the Ann Arbor […]
Total U.S. rail traffic for week ending Oct. 3 creeps above 2019 levels
WASHINGTON — Total U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Oct. 3 was up 0.8% over the same week in 2019, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads, thanks to the continued strength of intermodal volume. Final statistics for the month of September, meanwhile, showed carload traffic down significantly from September 2019, but that […]
Preliminary 2021 Metra budget doesn’t include service cuts, but that could change
CHICAGO — Metra has proposed a $700 million operating budget for 2021 that does not initially call for fare increases or service cuts — but that could change if it does not receive additional funding from other sources, such as additional federal coronavirus relief. The commuter railroad says the $700 million figure is based on […]
Metra Chicago & North Western heritage unit makes debut run
CHICAGO – Metra’s Chicago & North Western-inspired heritage unit, F59PHI No. 90, made its inaugural run on the UP-NW line on Wednesday. The train was a non-revenue move from Chicago to Crystal Lake and return. After the run, the cars were put away at the California Avenue yard, along with Illinois commemorative locomotive No. 402, […]
Digest: San Angelo, Texas, approves deal for rail port
More Wednesday morning rail news: San Angelo, Texas, approves deal for rail port The San Angelo, Texas, city council on Tuesday approved a $600,000 deal with South Plains Lamesa Railroad to create a rail port in the community, which one city official calls a “game changer” for the community. The San Angelo Standard-Times reports that under […]
Digest: California city files ‘strenuous objection’ to high speed rail plan
Wednesday midday rail news: Bay Area city files objection to high speed rail plan The city of Millbrae, Calif., has filed a “strenuous objection” to the environmental impact report filed by the California High Speed Rail Authority for the San Francisco-San Jose segment of the high speed project, saying in a press release that the plan “would […]