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Wednesday morning rail news: Amtrak adds business-class reserved seating on Acela Amtrak will offer reserved seating in business class on Acela trains beginning Monday, Aug. 3, expanding the seat-selection program that had previously been available only in first class. The feature also allows passengers a look at the overall occupancy rate of a train. As […]
Tuesday afternoon rail news: Progress Rail announces new battery-powered switcher, to be sold worldwide Progress Rail has introduced a new battery-powered switcher to be available for sale globally. The zero-emission EMD Joule was developed in collaboration with Vale, the mining corporation headquartered in Brazil which operates about 1,200 miles of railroads in Brazil and leases […]
Tuesday morning rail news: NJ Transit approves agreement to replace Portal Bridge, Northeast Corridor trouble spot An agreement to replace New Jersey’s infamous Portal Bridge on the Northeast Corridor is finally in place. NJ.com reports that the NJ Transit board of directors has unanimously approved an agreement with Amtrak, owner of the bridge, to replace […]
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific is single-tracking and adding centralized traffic control to its main line between Smiths Falls, Ontario, and the Montreal area. The two-year project includes removing 60 miles of double track on the 104.9-mile Winchester Subdivision. “CP is continuously looking for opportunities to improve its track infrastructure,” spokesman Andy Cummings says. “During […]
BNSF Railway and Union Pacific are facing varying degrees of congestion from a spike in domestic intermodal volume in Southern California. The railroads reported significant week-over-week overall intermodal volume increases as of July 18, with UP’s volume up 10% and BNSF’s up 8%, according to their weekly Association of American Railroads carload reports. The surge […]
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — With rehabilitation and restoration of the East Broad Top Railroad under way, the EBT Foundation staff is beginning to deal with the issue of backdating. How far and how much should it change in order to give the property the appearance of its common-carrier days (1870s-1956)? A recent trip through Rockhill […]
Monday midday rail news: Metra to add trains on Rock Island, BNSF lines Reflecting increasing ridership as the Chicago area reopens after COVID-19 shutdowns, Metra will add express trains to service on its BNSF and Rock Island lines next week, while schedules will be adjusted on two Electric District train. The new services will include […]
TREGO, Wis. — The opportunity may be coming to travel to Northwest Wisconsin and ride one of the first diesel-powered streamlined passenger trains. In a Trains News Wire exclusive, the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad has announced it has purchased the Mark Twain Zephyr, one of nine trainsets built by Philadelphia’s Budd Co. for the Chicago, […]
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern today named Union Pacific executive Cindy Sanborn as its chief operating officer, a position she also held at CSX Transportation. Sanborn was one of the first women in the industry to hold an executive-level operations position. She spent 30 years at CSX, where she rose through the ranks and ultimately […]
WASHINGTON — More than 500 management and union employees are accepting buyout offers to leave Amtrak as part of the company called a “self-help” effort to defray the financial impact of revenue losses from the COVID-19 pandemic. Last Friday, July 24, was the final day for many of those departing. The one-time payouts to 284 […]
Friday morning rail news: STB’s Oberman won’t participate in Metra-UP proceedings Surface Transportation Board Vice Chairman Martin Oberman, a former Metra board chairman, announced he will recuse himself from the STB’s proceedings regarding Metra’s request for a preliminary injunction and ruling in its ongoing dispute with Union Pacific [See “Metra asks STB for injunction against […]
More Friday midday rail news: High speed rail project gets OK for activity bonds from Nevada XpressWest, the Brightline/Virgin Trains subsidiary planning a high speed rail line from Southern California to Las Vegas, has received unanimous approval from the Nevada State Board of Finance for allocation of $200 million in tax-exempt private activity bonds. The […]
