Metra battery locomotives included in funding bill

Illustration of Metra locomotive in green versioin of paint scheme

CHICAGO — Metra would receive $1.5 million for its planned test of battery-electric locomotives on the Rock Island District under the Omnibus Appropriations bill passed by the U.S. Senate, the state’s two senators said in a press release. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives for action. The Metra funding are part of […]

Read More…

Year in review: Top international stories

Train at crowded station at night

Trains News Wire’s review of the top stories of 2022 continues. We’ll count down the Top 10 stories of the year, as voted on by Trains editors, columnists, and correspondents, beginning Monday, Dec. 26. Today, we asked our European correspondent, Keith Fender, to look at what he considers the year’s top international rail stories. At […]

Read More…

Lionel American Flyer GP7 returns in new road names

Lionel American Flyer GP7

The Lionel American Flyer GP7 is one of those classic locomotives to build your S gauge railroad around. This release of FlyerChief GP7s is from the Lionel 2021 Volume 2 catalog and has engines for the Burlington Northern, Chesapeake & Ohio, Lehigh Valley, and Wabash railroads plus two sets. One is a Texas & Pacific […]

Read More…

VIA Rail Canada cancels Christmas Day corridor trains

VIA Rail Canada logo

MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada has cancelled all 25 trains scheduled to operate on Christmas Day on its Toronto-Ottawa and Toronto-Montreal routes following a derailment earlier today (Dec. 24), the passenger operator has announced on its website. The derailment reportedly involved a Canadian National train, blocking all tracks in Kingston, Ontario, according to the Toronto […]

Read More…

U.S. DOT announces loan for South Shore’s Double Track project

Shot of construction work on rail line, including wall between railroad track and street

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday announced a $27.5 million loan to the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District for the South Shore Line’s Double Track Project, adding a second main line to the commuter route between Gary and Michigan City, Ind. “We are pleased to help finance the Double Track Project, which […]

Read More…

Year in review: Preservation stories from coast to coast

Three-stall roundhouse building under construction

Trains News Wire continues our review of the top stories of 2022. We’ll count down the Top 10 stories of the year, as voted on by Trains editors, columnists, and correspondents, beginning Dec. 26. As a prelude, we’ll be looking at major stories that didn’t make that list. Today: Preservation. While some preservation stories did […]

Read More…

FRA announces $9 billion in funding for Northeast Corridor infrastructure projects

High speed train crossing bridge

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation is offering nearly $9 billion in grants to upgrade the Northeast Corridor through a Federal Railroad Administration program, the FRA announced on Thursday. FRA Administrator Amit Bose said in a press release that the funding is “a major step towards reversing a half-century of underinvestment in vital rail […]

Read More…

Kansas attorney general joins group asking Supreme Court to review decisions on grade-crossing cases

Car turning while train blocks street. House hearing explores highway crossing challenges

TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has joined a group of officials from other states in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review decisions that have prevented states from enacting or enforcing laws that limit the amount of time railroads can block grade crossings. Eighteen other state attorneys general have joined a group […]

Read More…