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WASHINGTON — Union Pacific and steelmaker Commercial Metals Co. have asked federal regulators to continue their review of a proposed 6-mile branch in the Phoenix area. The Surface Transportation Board halted the environmental review process for the Pecos Industrial Rail Access Train Extension, or PIRATE, on Aug. 31 after the discovery of what it said […]
BOSTON — Keolis Commuter Services, the operator of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail trains, has reached amended labor agreements with an additional nine of the company’s 14 unions. The agreements, which still need to be ratified by members of each union, will be retroactive to July 1, 2023, when the contracts became amendable, Keolis […]
WASHINGTON — A proposed high speed rail line in the Pacific Northwest will receive $49.7 million for the second stage of planning under the Federal Railroad Administration’s Corridor Identification and Development program, a group of Washington state legislators announced Wednesday, Dec. 18. U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, along with six members of the […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — The members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have voted to ratify a new five-year collective bargaining agreement with BNSF Railway. “This achievement, following on ratified agreements with many of our other union partners, underscores our commitment to ensure continued exceptional service for our customers,” BNSF CEO Katie Farmer said […]
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has approved $55 million in funding for 30 rail freight improvement projects, the agency announced on Wednesday (Dec. 18). The funds, for a mix of railroads and rail customers, are from the state’s Rail Transportation Assistance Program and Rail Freight Assistance Program; PennDOT said they would create […]
The eastbound Southern Pacific Sunset Limited approaches the Memorial Tunnel at El Paso, Texas, on March 15, 1952. Born in 1894, the Sunset had received its latest upgrade in 1950. Classic Trains collection […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate has passed a bill eliminating cuts to railroad unemployment benefits, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden for his signature. S1274, the Railroad Employee Equity and Fairness (REEF) Act, passed the Senate today after earlier passage in the House of Representatives. It ends a tax of $50 every two weeks […]
CHICAGO — Days after a challenge from federal legislators, Amtrak and its partners have applied for four grants which would enable more than $500 million in improvements as part of the program to upgrade Chicago Union Station and related infrastructure. The grant requests for elements of the Chicago Hub Improvement Program met a Dec. 16 […]
ERWIN, Tenn. — It could be September 2025 before CSX Transportation is able to resume operations on the badly damaged portions of its former Clinchfield Railroad route in Tennessee and North Carolina. The railroad has listed September 2025 as the date by which emergency repairs will be completed in its latest permit request for repairs […]
HAVRE DE GRACE, Md. — An Amtrak contractor has completed the removal of 10 bridge piers dating to 1866 from the Susquehanna River, a required move in advance of construction of new bridges connecting Havre de Grace and Perryville, Md. Contractor Fay Construction began the process earlier this year and completed it in November, Amtrak […]
WASHINGTON—Despite responses from prospective manufacturers indicating already-published concepts for replacing bilevel Superliners would be difficult to execute, Amtrak management moved ahead with requests that carbuilders subsequently rejected. The result has been a seven-month delay in issuing a final Request for Proposals that might be acceptable to remaining bidders. That’s among the conclusions of Amtrak’s independent […]
Little more than a year ago, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority was battered by problems and criticism. Its rail system was riddled with slow orders. Delivery of new rolling stock from China’s CRRC was far behind schedule. And it was still trying to correct issues addressed in directives from the Federal Transit Authority in 2022. […]
