A Metra train led by the Rock Island-painted unit honoring former CEO Don Orseno arrives at Blue Island, Ill., on Jan. 2, 2018. Metra will introduce a new schedule on the Rock Island District on Jan. 28, reflecting rider input and changes to allow positive train control operation. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — Metra will […]
NEW YORK CITY — The board overseeing New York’s subway system will meet in an emergency session on Tuesday to discuss an expert panel’s suggestion that an important L-train line could remain open during extensive repairs rather than shut down. The L train runs roughly east-west through New York and under the East River. It […]
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation has launched a fundraising campaign to pay for the installation of a turntable at its museum and locomotive home in Portland. The 102-foot-long turntable itself is an historic artifact, having been manufactured in 1924 by American Bridge Co., likely in Coos Bay, Ore., where it had a […]
The Hoosier State, with a consist including equipment being ferried from Amtrak’s Beech Grove Heavy Maintenance Facility, rolls through St. John, Indiana, on July 4, 2014. Bob Johnston Crawfordsville townspeople and Mayor Todd Barton, left, visit with then-Amtrak president Joe Boardman at an inspection train stop in October 2014. Bob Johnston INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Gov. […]
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Any replacement for the century-old Interstate 5 bridge connecting Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, Wash., must include light rail, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said last week. Inslee, speaking at a preview of the 2019 legislative session that beings today, said light rail will be included because Oregon, which will pay for half of […]
NEW YORK — Amtrak is looking for options for its New York tunnels. During the day today, railroad officials will walk to the East River tunnels with officials from Columbia and Cornell universities, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and other members of an expert panel. They’re expected to find out if repair work could […]
Hoosick, N.Y. Google Maps HOOSICK, N.Y. — Three propane tank cars that were part of an eight-car derailment in upstate New York are scheduled to have their contents offloaded to other cars on Friday, according to the local fire chief. “The offloading process takes approximately four hours per tank car,” says North Hoosick Fire Chief […]
No. 32A is westbound at Cleveland Avenue in St. Paul, Minn., with Chicago-Minneapolis train No. 55 on Sept. 25, 1966. Steve Glischinski collection MINNEAPOLIS – The nonprofit Friends of the 261 has reached an agreement with Watco Cos. and the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad to acquire former Milwaukee Road E9 No. 32A. The fully operable […]
BERLIN — Laurie Tolson sets out a compelling vision for the future of intermodal freight transportation. GE Transportation’s chief digital officer took time out of the biennial InnoTrans tradeshow in Berlin last September to describe software integrating and analysing data from multiple sensors on locomotives, trackside equipment, and even potentially dockside cranes at ports or […]
CHICAGO — Three suburban Chicago members of Metra’s board of directors have taken the unusual move of penning a newspaper opinion-editorial expressing their concern about the commuter railroad’s “dire” capital funding crisis and warning of potential service cuts. “Without a large infusion of funding from the state of Illinois, we likely will have to shrink […]
No. 405 shows off its new Hiawatha nose logo at Grayslake, a detail left out of the first publicity photos shared by Metra. Jimmy Solum GRAYSLAKE, Ill. – When Metra train No. 2119 arrived at Grayslake on Thursday afternoon, it brought a little bit of railroad history with it — in two ways. Most prominent […]
The number of incidents at grade crossings nationwide increased by nearly 3.6 percent in 2017, but new vehicle technology may be vital in reducing such incidents moving forward. An analysis of federal numbers reveals a majority of incidents happened at crossings equipped with either gates or flashing lights. While the data shows no single cause […]
