BOSTON — Amtrak will end checked baggage service on the Boston section of the Lake Shore Limited, effective Jan. 7. The change on trains 448 and 449 means Springfield, Mass., will lose checked baggage service entirely, while Northeast Regional trains 65, 66 and 67 (Boston-Washington-Newport News overnight) will be the only trains with checked baggage serving Boston […]
A Brazilian heritage rail group saved and restored a C30-7A locomotive in time for holiday train duty in the South American country. Bruno Sanches ARARAQUARA, São Paulo, Brazil — A Brazilian preservation group that saved the country’s only surviving C30-7A locomotive made quick work of its restoration and is now taking it on a tour […]
Two Chicago police officers were killed when struck by a train at the 103rd/Rosemore station on the Metra Electric line. Google Maps CHICAGO — Two Chicago police officers pursuing a suspect on foot were killed when they were struck by a South Shore train on the Metra Electric line Monday night. The Chicago Tribune reports […]
Port Huron, Mich. Google Maps PORT HURON, Mich. — A Port Huron & Detroit Railroad roundhouse slated for demolition has a new lease on life. CSX has halted demolition and is in talks to donate the property to the Port Huron & Detroit Railroad Historical Society. On Dec. 10, CSX Transportation crews arrived on the […]
Part of the problem with crossing gates on Denver’s A Line commuter service is that tall buildings interfere with GPS signals, the RTD says in a report. TRAINS: David Lassen DENVER — Tall buildings are part of the reason for Denver RTD’s ongoing grade-crossing problems on two commuter rail lines, the transit agency told federal […]
With a dual-power ALP-45 locomotive in the background, a chart showing NJ Transit’s progress in installing positive train control is on display at a Monday press conference at the Meadows Maintenance Center. Ralph Spielman KEARNY, N.J. — After an intense year of playing catch-up, NJ Transit has met the deadline for positive train control equipment […]
A year after the fatal derailment of Amtrak Cascades train No. 501, service has not yet returned to the Point Defiance Bypass. Steve Carter A northbound Amtrak Cascades train passes the southern end of the Point Defiance Bypass, the track at right, at Nisqually, Wash., in June 2018. A year after the derailment of the […]
Firefighters set a back burn along the Durango & Silverton tracks as part of their efforts to contain the 416 Fire in early June. Wyoming Interagency Hotshots Railroaders have always had to deal with whatever Mother Nature threw at them, but 2018 was a particularly trying year for railroads dealing with natural disasters, from fires […]
Behind six units, an eastbound Z-train flies through historic downtown Laramie, Wyo., on June 7, 2018, exactly 150 years to the day that Union Pacific tracks reached the town named for French-Canadian fur trader Jacques La Ramee. Bill Stephens OMAHA, Neb. — More of Union Pacific’s intermodal trains will operate daily, up from five or […]
SARANAC LAKE, N.Y. — While New York State came one step closer Friday to achieving its goal of removing some of the tracks used by the Adirondack Scenic Railroad, there are hurdles remaining before any such plan could be implemented. “It was not a surprise. It doesn’t mean anything yet,” says Bill Branson, board president […]
WASHINGTON — A report issued last week by the Congressional Budget Office says eliminating the Federal Transit Administration would save $127 billion from 2021 through 2028, and that abolishing funding for Amtrak would avoid $19.8 billion in projected federal spending. The American Public Transportation Association responded immediately, saying it “strongly opposed” the idea. “Eliminating federal […]
The Polar Bear Express, using leased Iowa Pacific Holdings Co. equipment, departs North-bound from Kokomo, Ind., on Sunday, Dec. 16. Steve Smedley KOKOMO, Ind. — If you need a Christmas-time covered wagon fix, central Indiana is the place to go. Two holiday passenger operations there are featuring classic Electro-Motive Division cab units as power. The […]
