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Magazine: Trains Magazine
Caltrain celebrates 160 years of rail service
SAN FRANCISCO – This week Caltrain celebrated 160 years of rail service between San Francisco and San Jose about 50 miles south. Passenger train service began Jan. 16, 1864. Its creation was said to be central to the development of the San Francisco Peninsula and South Bay. Over the year, the majority of the cities […]
Pinning an EMD turbocharger
EMD turbochargers For decades, railroads have adapted locomotives to meet the service to which they are assigned. As newer and more powerful locomotives arrive on a roster, older units cascade down to lesser roles. Oftentimes these new assignments don’t require as much horsepower as mainline duties. In low-speed, local or yard service, weight and adhesion […]
Metra to launch Access Pilot Program, reducing fares systemwide for low-income riders
CHICAGO — Metra, the Regional Transportation Authority, and Cook County, Ill., on Tuesday announced the Access Pilot Program, which extends reduced fares for low-income riders across the entire six-county Metra system as of Feb. 1. The new program, an 18-month pilot program, is a successor to and expansion of the Fair Transit South Cook program, […]
Broken rail led to CN derailment, TSB tells news site
LA BROQUERIE, Manitoba — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada reports a broken rail at a grade crossing has been confirmed as the cause of last week’s derailment of a Canadian National train near La Broquerie, the website Steinbach Online reports. The 27-car derailment occurred Thursday, Jan. 11, at about 7:15 p.m. There were no […]
Amtrak cancellations start shifting east and west (updated)
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 […]
FRA seeks public comment on proposed autonomous railcar test program
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 […]
NTSB to investigate rail worker death in Ohio
JEWETT, Ohio — The National Transportation Safety Board will conduct an investigation after a railroad worker was killed Monday in Jewett, the agency announced Monday. WOIO-TV reports the worker was an employee for the Columbus & Ohio River Rail Road, a Genesee & Wyoming property, and quoted a statement from the parent company said its […]
Virginia Railway Express budget approved, including start of Saturday service
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., council to consider resolution supporting commuter line to Milwaukee
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 […]
Amtrak Midwest winter shutdown continues
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 […]
Tense moments, but no disaster, after train stalls on CPKC’s Rutledge Hill in Iowa
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, […]
