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CHICAGO — With daytime Midwest temperatures expected to push above zero beginning Wednesday, Amtrak today (Tuesday, Jan. 16) began resuming departures on some long-distance routes west of Chicago, although trains serving western New York and the Pacific Northwest were cancelled today and Wednesday, Jan. 17. A cancellation advisory posted this afternoon indicated alternate bus transportation […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration is seeking public comments on Genesee & Wyoming short lines’ request to test Parallel Systems autonomous, self-propelled battery-electric freight cars. The FRA, in a decision published in the Federal Register today, said it has accepted the Georgia Central Railway and Heart of Georgia Railroad petition for a test program […]
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The fiscal 2025 budget for Virginia Railway Express has received final approval, setting the stage for the commuter operator to begin offering Saturday service for the first time later this year. The $119.9 million operating budget, up 10% over fiscal 2024, received approval last week from the second of the two agencies […]
KENOSHA, Wis. — The Kenosha City Council will consider a resolution on Wednesday in support of a long-discussed commuter rail line to Milwaukee, the Kenosha News reports. City councils in Racine, Milwaukee, and South Milwaukee have already approved resolutions supporting federal investment toward the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee Regional Rail Corridor. The resolution to be considered by Kenosha […]
CHICAGO — Amtrak continues to assess efforts to operate in subzero Midwest temperatures and make cancellation decisions less than 24 hours before departures. In a remarkably candid email addressed this morning to “Supporter of Passenger Rail” and obtained by Trains News Wire, Amtrak’s veteran Chicago-based government affairs director, Derrick James, outlined the latest cancellations through […]
A railroad webcam captured dramatic video and audio of a Canadian Pacific Kansas City merchandise train that stalled on a grade in Iowa on Friday — and then began rolling back downgrade toward a BNSF Railway train that was occupying the at-grade junction of the two main lines in Ottumwa. After a few tense minutes, […]
CUMBERLAND, Md. — The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad has signed a long-term lease to acquire the Georges Creek Railway, a dormant short line in Maryland’s southwestern Allegany County, which the railroad plans to use for “passenger and potential freight opportunities,” according to a press release. The newly acquired line will be known as Western Maryland […]
PORTLAND, Ore. — MAX light rail service remains suspended throughout the Portland area as of this morning (Monday, Jan. 15) as a result of winter weather that hit the area on Saturday — with more on the way. Transit agency Tri-Met says in an advisory on its website the light rail service is suspended “until […]
MELBOURNE, Fla. — The National Transportation Safety Board will send a team to investigate after Brightline trains were involved in two fatal collisions with motorists who drove around operating crossing gates at the same grade crossing, the agency said on Saturday. In a post on the social media site X, the NTSB said it would […]
CHICAGO — As subzero temperatures blanketed the country’s mid-section following blizzard conditions that postponed an NFL playoff game in Buffalo, N.Y., travelers counting on Amtrak to provide all-weather transportation scrambled to alter their plans. Additional trains have been added to previously reported cancellations [see “Amtrak announces another round …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 10, 2024]. […]
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has promised to schedule a vote on the stalled Railway Safety Act, the political website The Hill reports, but Republican leader Mitch McConnell opposes the legislation and may block it or delay it. The bill introduced in reaction to the East Palestine derailment includes provisions requiring two-person crews, […]
GORE, Va. — A sand mine that has provided the majority of carload traffic for the original main line of the Winchester & Western Railroad for 80 years is preparing to close, with an uncertain impact on what is now the railroad’s Virginia Division. The Winchester Star reports the mine in Gore stopped accepting orders […]
