A joint bid from Hitachi and Alstom has won the contract for a long-awaited, $2.6 billion order for the fleet of trains to operate on Britain’s new HS2 high speed line. The 54 eight-car electric trainsets, designed to routinely operate at 225 mph, are being described as the “fastest trains in Europe.” Recently announced plans […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s Human Resources department does not have sufficient staff to handle the company’s plans to add up to 3,500 employees this fiscal year, the Amtrak Office of the Inspector General says in a report issued Thursday. In another report, the Office of Inspector General said Amtrak should become more involved in local efforts […]
BIG VALLEY, Alberta — The Dauphin Rail Museum and Canadian Northern Society will hold events Dec. 14-15 to commemorate the opening of a railroad that became the Canadian Northern Railway, Canada’s second transcontinental railroad. Dec. 15 will mark the 125th anniversary of the opening of the Lake Manitoba Railway & Canal Co.; the company’s first […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak President Stephen Gardner’s presentation Thursday at a House committee hearing included justification for potential service cuts, related to the passenger railroad’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement, that may be announced next week. Gardner was taking part in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Rail Subcommittee hearing, “Leveraging Infrastructure and Jobs Act: Plans for Expanding […]
Chicago Great Western Railroad history introduction Chicago Great Western Railroad history traces its roots to A.B. Stickney, who early in his adult life entered the railroad business, set to link St. Paul with Chicago. He took the legal assets of the moribund Minnesota & Northwestern Railroad, and in 1884 pushed a line under that banner […]
Shades of the AEM7: Amtrak’s newest heritage locomotive, ACS64 No. 662, made its debut on Thursday, handling Northeast Regional train No. 176 from Washington to Boston. The first trip came shortly after Amtrak released photos on Twitter of the Siemens locomotive wrapped in a recreation of the paint scheme worn by the earlier electric locomotives […]
DARBY, Pa. — Seven people have been injured, one critically, after a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority trolley collided with a CSX freight train on Thursday morning, KYW-TV reports. The Philadelphia Inquirer, which earlier had reported six injuries — to the operator and five passengers — reports an eastbound trolley on Route 11, from Darby to […]
LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. — U.S. Steel, Norfolk Southern, and carbuilder Greenbrier have combined on a new gondola car design which will reduce the weight of each car by up to 15,000 pounds through use of a high-strength, lighter-weight steel. NS will receive 800 of the cars in an initial order. The new steel has the […]
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – East Broad Top Railroad has been awarded a $1.1 million state grant to rebuild 7.8 miles of track between the company’s headquarters in Rockhill Furnace and the towns of Three Springs and Saltillo, and to support related EBT projects. The grant awarded Wednesday, Dec. 8, is the first step toward reopening […]
DENTON, Texas — Glenn Hulcher, founder of multi-faceted railroad contractor Hulcher Services, has died, the company announced. Hulcher died on Nov. 23 after a battle with cancer. “Glenn was a pioneer, an innovator and our friend and we will miss him daily, but his legacy will live on through the company and those whom he […]
FOSTORIA, Ohio — Fostoria’s historic Jackson Street Tower, which housed the nation’s first Centralized Traffic Control equipment, has been demolished. The former New York Central structure was torn down as part of an ongoing effort by CSX Transportation to remove old, unused structures along its routes. It was the operator in the Jackson Street Tower […]
CLEWISTON, Fla. — U.S. Sugar’s Sugar Express will operate a Santa Train powered by ex-Florida East Coast 4-6-2 No. 148 this Saturday, delivering toys for the Toys for Tots programs in Moore Haven, Clewiston, Belle Glade, and Martin County. The trip will begin with a 7:30 a.m. arrival in Belle Glade, Fla. The train will […]
