Utah’s FrontRunner may be in line for double tracking, other improvements
Utah’s budget situation looks better than expected for 2021, which may make room for a long-sought double-track project for FrontRunner commuter rail service. The Salt Lake Tribune reports improvements for the commuter operation include double-track segments between Ogden and Provo, which would allow trains to run every 15 minutes, and the possible introduction of express trains, which would make one or no intermediate stops. The improvements would cost about $450 million, with money coming from the federal and state governments, and Utah Transit Authority.
OmniTRAX, Northern Ohio & Western fund meals for food bank
Short line company OmniTRAX and its affiliate Northern Ohio & Western Railway are funding 120,000 meals to the West Ohio Food Bank to help feed the hungry, while also pledging volunteer support from employees. The food bank, a Feeding America partner, serves 11 counties. “As the people of Ohio continue to wrestle with the economic and public health challenges from the pandemic, food insecurity is a serious problem,” OmniTRAX Chief Operating Officer Gord Anutooshkin said. “The communities we serve are important to us and by contributing our time and resources, we can help West Ohio Food Bank battle local hunger and serve more people in need this winter.”
Four European rail operators to restart night trains
Four European rail companies have said they will revive night train routes that were dropped several years ago, boosting the option for overnight rail travel that is gaining support as an environmentally preferable option to flying. The Associated Press reports Germany’s Deutsche Bahn, Austrian Federal Railways, SNCF of France, and the Swiss Federal Railways said they will revive Vienna-Munich-Paris and Zurich-Cologne-Amsterdam routes as of next December, with additional routes launched in 2023 and 2024.
