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WASHINGTON — Short line and regional railroads received an early Christmas gift with the passage of a government spending bill last week that included a five-year extension of a popular tax credit. Last week, Congress passed a $1.4 trillion budget that included an extension of the Short Line Railroad 45G Tax Credit, first enacted in […]
Cast members from the musical “As One” gather for a group photo on a stage at the Golden Spike National Historic Park on May 10, 2019. The musical was the main educational and entertainment event during ceremonies marking the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. Trains Staff Other anniversaries will come and […]
E. Hunter Harrison Courtesy, Canadian Pacific Wildfire — in the form of Precision Scheduled Railroading — has enflamed corporate railroad headquarters from Mexico to Canada and throughout the United States. It’s hard to imagine any theory of operations and management, so long opposed by the notoriously status-quo cultures of U.S. railroads, could take root so […]
Joe Boardman, Amtrak’s second-longest-serving CEO, on a Southwest Chief inspection trip in 2016. Bob Johnston Few people have suffered the sustained, stinging criticism of opinion writers and readers in Trains Magazine as long as Joe Boardman did while he was Amtrak president and CEO — only to revive his popular reputation with interviews in retirement. […]
Shelbi Hoover, Paul Utterback, and Dr. Helen Hudson help prepare the Crawfordsville, Ind., station on Saturday, June 29, the day before the final run of the Hoosier State. Bob Johnston If you’re a fan of Amtrak, 2019 might be called a “building year,” similar to a major league team recouping from years of losses and […]
Genesee & Wyoming’s more than 100 owned or leased short line railroads make it one of the largest players in North American railroading that is not a Class I railroad. It remains the largest short line holding company on the continent, if not the world. And this year it went private. Brookfield Asset Management […]
Chelatchie Prairie Railroad’s Crossett Western No. 10, an Alco 2-8-2T steam locomotive. Doug Auburg SEATTLE — The Chelatchie Prairie Railroad, a volunteer-run tourist rail operation near Vancouver, Wash., has begun a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to restore its steam locomotive to operating condition. The Crossett Western No. 10, an Alco 2-8-2T built in 1929, […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration issued two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Dec. 19 which would allow railroads to change how they inspect track and train brake systems. Officials say the changes will “promote safety innovation and reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens.” “It’s time to modernize existing regulations to permit methods of inspecting, testing, […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has awarded more than $2.7 million in grants to nine projects as part of its Industrial Rail Access Program to improve rail and freight access. Applicants must match the public funds with private funding that pays at least 40% of the project’s total cost. The projects approved Monday […]
TORONTO — The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference is suing Canadian Pacific, alleging that the railroad is forcing employees to work beyond their hours of service in violation of a 2018 arbitration order. Reuters News reported on Dec. 20 that earlier this year the Teamsters filed a lawsuit against CP in federal court and that the […]
ROGERS PASS, British Columbia — A Canadian Pacific train derailed after being struck by an avalanche over the weekend. At 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 21, a CP intermodal train was struck by an avalanche on Rogers Pass in British Columbia’s Glacier National Park. Seven cars derailed in the incident and no one was injured, spokeswoman […]
Metra trains meet in Western Springs, Ill., in November 2019. The commuter railroad is inviting riders to participate in a survey on possible amenities in new railcars that could replace the familiar bilevel gallery coaches. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — Metra is seeking customers’ opinions on features of new railcars it expects to order soon. […]
