Amtrak’s California Zephyr passes through Western Springs, Ill. Amtrak is holding a social media contest for holiday-themed photos. TRAINS: David Lassen NEW YORK — Amtrak has launched a social media photo contest looking for holiday pictures. Six winners will receive a $100 Dunkin’ gift card, and six will include an Amtrak “swag bag” with various […]
Section: News Wire
CSX Transportation commits to Baltimore tunnel clearance project
BALTIMORE — The on again, off again Howard Street Tunnel clearance project appears to be back on again after CSX Transportation committed $91 million during a meeting with Maryland officials. CSX CEO Jim Foote met with the Maryland congressional delegation on Thursday. “We are pleased that CSX has reversed its position on the Howard Street […]
CTA awards contract for $1.2 billion Red Line project NEWSWIRE
An inbound CTA Purple Line train passes through Chicago’s Lincoln Park area in October. The CTA has approved contracts for a major reconstruction of the Red and Purple lines north of this location. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority board of directors on Wednesday approved more than a billion dollars in contracts […]
Final report confirms broken coupler caused fatal Vancouver Island runaway NEWSWIRE
Woss, British Columbia Google Maps WOSS, British Columbia — Federal investigators say that a broken coupler and a poorly installed derail device led to the runaway that killed three railroaders on a Vancouver Island logging road in 2017. On Thursday, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada released its findings following a 19-month investigation into the […]
Monon’s first diesel decapitated in trucking accident
LOGANSPORT, Ind. — The cab of Monon’s first diesel, operational SW1 No. 50, was sheared off in a trucking accident Thursday night less than two miles from where the 76-year-old unit was to be offloaded at the relocated Indiana Transportation Museum. The truck moving the privately-owned unit from Noblesville, Ind., to the museum’s new home […]
Students help design new water tower as part of STEM education initiative
MILWAUKEE — High school students are helping design a new water tower for the Milwaukee County (Wis.) Zoo’s 15-inch gauge railroad as part of a unique partnership between schools and a number of organizations to bolster STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. The program is being spearheaded by Learn Deep, a local initiative that […]
Trains Top stories for 2018: No. 9, Station Restorations NEWSWIRE
Interior of the recently re-opened Cincinnati Union Terminal. David T. Rohdenburg The year 2018 was significant for some of the grandes dames of America’s railroad past, present and future. CINCINNATI In Cincinnati, the art deco masterpiece Union Terminal reopened after a 30-month, $228-million restoration project. The building is home to several museums and is a […]
VIA Rail Canada, Siemens announce deal for new corridor equipment (updated)
MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada has selected Siemens to build the new equipment for its Quebec City-Windsor, Ont., corridor, a $740-million ($999-million Canadian) contract to build 32 trainsets with delivery beginning in 2022. The bidirectional trainsets will use Siemens Charger locomotives, which meet U.S. EPA Tier 4 emission standards. Similar locomotives are now in use […]
AAR: Crude oil carloads continue double-digit climb NEWSWIRE
Association of American Railroads Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads on Wednesday reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Dec. 8. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 570,225 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.1 percent compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the […]
At least nine dead in Turkish high speed train crash NEWSWIRE
Rescue workers survey the scene of a train accident in Ankara, Turkey, on Thursday. A high speed train hit a locomotive engine and crashed into a pedestrian overpass. Associated Press A high speed trainset for Turkey’s state railway is displayed at InnoTrans in Berlin in 2016. One of six similar trainsets was involved in Thursday’s […]
Big Boy 4014 gets drivers; UP asks for PTC waivers for three steam locomotives NEWSWIRE
UP steam shop crew places the front engine under Big Boy No. 4014 on Dec. 11. R.T. Burnham CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Big Boy 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 is feeling like at least half of its old self today. Photos published on Facebook news groups showed Union Pacific steam shop crews on Tuesday lifting the smokebox and […]
Congressmen join effort to sway Amtrak plans to close call center NEWSWIRE
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Members of California’s congressional delegation have joined the effort to save Amtrak’s reservation call center in Riverside, which employs about 500 workers. The Riverside Press-Enterprise reports that 37 of the state’s representatives in Congress have agreed to sign a letter asking Amtrak to change its plan to close the Riverside center on […]