NEW YORK — Friday’s announcement that Amtrak’s board of directors had reached agreement with New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority on the Penn Station Access project had been expected. An accompanying possibility — direct Amtrak service to Long Island — was not. In a press release following the Amtrak board meeting, Stephen Gardner, senior executive vice […]
Section: News Wire
Amtrak to debut new western Massachusetts service in June NEWSWIRE
Amtrak’s northbound Vermonter crosses a canal in Holyoke, Mass., on Aug. 30, 2018. Plans for additional service will increase frequency on this corridor from one to three round trips daily. Scott A. Hartley SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The upgrade of former Boston & Maine Railroad trackage that allowed the Vermonter to be rerouted via Greenfield, Mass., […]
Court: Washington coroner not entitled to BNSF cab video NEWSWIRE
OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington state Supreme Court has ruled that the Pierce County, Wash., medical examiner isn’t entitled to a copy of a video recording made and held by BNSF Railway of a 2017 fatality in which a man standing on tracks was struck and killed. The ruling, filed Jan. 31, stems from a […]
Joe Boardman speaks in The Trains Interview NEWSWIRE
Joe Boardman Bob Johnston WAUKESHA, Wis. — Former Amtrak President Joe Boardman has strong words for his old railroad in the March 2019 issue of Trains Magazine. In our monthly “The Trains Interview,” Boardman discusses rail safety, operations, dining car service and offers a critical opinion of the passenger railroad under the leadership of Amtrak’s […]
Metra resumes Electric line service on modified schedule NEWSWIRE
A Metra Electric train stops at the Homewood, Ill., station in May 2016. Metra has restored service to the entire Electric line, but on a limited scheduled. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — Metra has resumed service across its Electric Line, but will be operating on a “modified weekday schedule” today (Monday, Feb. 4) as repairs […]
NRHS convention trips selling out NEWSWIRE
NRHS is selling events for its annual convention in conjunction with the transcontinental railroad anniversary. Some events are already sold out. Trains: Jim Wrinn SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – With registration open one week for the National Railway Historical Society’s annual convention in May, the nation’s largest railroad enthusiast organization is reporting that some events […]
Oregon legislator launches effort to extend Portland-area commuter rail line to state capital NEWSWIRE
A Wilsonville-bound Westside Express Service train passes through Tigard, Ore., in June 2018. An Oregon legislator wants the service extended to the state capital, Salem. TRAINS: David Lassen PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon legislator is making a fourth attempt to generate interest in a plan to extend Portland’s lone commuter-rail line to Salem, Ore. The […]
San Francisco’s transit center to remain closed until at least June NEWSWIRE
SAN FRANCISCO — The Transbay Transit Center, the downtown bus terminal which will eventually also serve as San Francisco’s station for the California high speed rail system, will remain closed until at least June, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The $2.2 billion dollar facility had been open for just six weeks when it was closed […]
Shortline executive and author Russell Tedder passes NEWSWIRE
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A giant of the short line railroad industry has passed. Russell Tedder, who coordinated Georgia-Pacific’s railroads and served as chairman of the American Shortline Railroad Association, has died. He passed Jan. 29 at age 83. According to an obituary posted at Smith Funeral Home in North Little Rock, Ark., Tedder graduated […]
South Carolina mayor lashes out at NS over grade-crossing blockage; legislator proposes stiff penalties NEWSWIRE
A screenshot from a video on the North Charleston, S.C., city government Facebook page shows Mayor Keith Summey standing in the middle of a railroad track to harshly criticize Norfolk Southern over daytime work that blocked a busy grade crossing. North Charleston city government Facebook page NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — North Charleston’s mayor has taken […]
Three dead in CP derailment in British Columbia
FIELD, British Columbia — Three Canadian Pacific employees are dead after an early-morning wreck east of Field. According to media reports, a westbound grain train derailed while descending Kicking Horse Pass at approximately 1 a.m. Monday. Between 30 and 40 cars derailed and at least one locomotive ended up in the Kicking Horse River. The […]
Union Pacific to drop low-volume intermodal moves to points on CN, CP, and CSX NEWSWIRE
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific will drop interline intermodal service in 186 low-volume lanes with destinations on Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, and CSX Transportation. The changes, announced in late January, are the latest as UP streamlines its intermodal network as it implements its Unified Plan 2020, the new operating plan based on the principles of […]