ABOARD THE SILVER STAR — It took almost 10 years to complete Amtrak’s latest sleeping-car order. The 25 Viewliner II cars, manufactured by CAF USA in Elmira, N.Y., faced issues with meeting construction specifications before Amtrak agreed to accept them. But the latest arrivals are now operating alongside what had been the newest rolling stock […]
Railroad: Amtrak
Two counties back agency to help revive Reading-Philadelphia passenger service
READING, Pa. — Two Pennsylvania counties have agreed to create a passenger rail authority to support restoration of service between Reading and Philadelphia, leaving just one more county needing to approve formation of the authority. The Pottstown Mercury reports commissioners in Berks and Montgomery counties approved creation of the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority on […]
Amtrak runs Baton Rouge-New Orleans inspection train
BATON ROUGE, La. — A decades-long effort to create a Louisiana passenger rail corridor between the state capital of Baton Rouge and New Orleans moved a step closer Wednesday when Gov. John Bel Edwards joined Amtrak, federal, and railroad officials on an inspection run along the route. Among those joining the governor, a Democrat, were […]
Gulf Coast hearing, week 3: Mobile rail executive outlines train movements; Amtrak witnesses criticize randomized data
WASHINGTON — Switching details and conflicting traffic modeling assumptions dominated discussions at the Surface Transportation Board’s hearing into Amtrak plans to launch passenger service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. The seventh and eighth days of testimony and cross-examination, spread over three weeks, on the dispute over plans for two daily Amtrak round trips precedes […]
Jewell named as interim director of LOSSAN agency
ORANGE, Calif. — Jason Jewell has been appointed interim managing director of the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency, which oversees Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service in Southern California. Jewell was appointed unanimously by the LOSSAN board of directors, effective April 18, the agency announced Tuesday. He will also continue to serve as chief financial officer, a position […]
CN raises new train count data issues around CP-KCS merger
WASHINGTON — Canadian National claims it has found additional train count inconsistencies in the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger application and related environmental filings. The Surface Transportation Board last month put review of the CP-KCS merger on hold until discrepancies in train density data could be sorted out. CP has provided the board with clarification […]
Amtrak to restore four long-distance trains to daily service in late May
WASHINGTON — Four of the seven Amtrak long-distance trains currently operating five days per week will return to daily schedules the week of May 23, according to information obtained by Trains News Wire. Two others will continue to run on the five-day-per-week schedule, while cancellation of Silver Meteor service to and from Florida will continue […]
Federal judge strikes down transportation mask mandate (updated)
WASHINGTON — Amtrak will continue to welcome mask use in stations and aboard trains but will not require it following a Monday ruling by a Florida judge striking down the federal mask mandate. But some public transit agencies indicated they would leave their mask rule in place, at least temporarily. The government had just extended […]
Gulf Coast testimony confirms modeling did not explore operating changes: Analysis
WASHINGTON — Two days of testimony that made up the second week of the Surface Transportation Board’s hearing on Amtrak Gulf Coast service delved into the intricacies of traffic modeling and its data inputs, and made clear both that Amtrak had no role in that modeling, and that consideration of changes to freight operations were […]
Amtrak seeks control of Washington Union Station
WASHINGTON — Amtrak is trying to gain control of Washington Union Station, the southern terminus for most of its Northeast Corridor operations, saying the move is necessary to expand and modernize the second-busiest station on the passenger operator’s network. The Washington Post reports Amtrak has moved to use eminent domain to gain control the facility, […]
Amtrak unveils new locomotive paint scheme (corrected)
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has unveiled the new paint scheme to be worn by the remainder of its fleet of Siemens ALC42 locomotives, a two-tone blue design with a splash of red and white trim. The “Phase VII” scheme — the seventh standard design in Amtrak’s 50-year history — debuts on Charger No. 309, the 10th […]
Spring blizzard causes ‘Empire Builder’ cancellations
CHICAGO — Due to forecast blizzard conditions in North Dakota and Montana this week, Amtrak has terminated its Empire Builder service between St. Paul and Spokane, Wash. The eastbound Empire Builder from Seattle ran with its full set of equipment on April 11 and 12 from Seattle to Spokane, where it terminated. On the same […]