Trains.com Forums have a new home

Screenshot of web forums

The beloved forums for Model Railroader, Trains Magazine, Classic Trains, Classic Toy Trains, and Garden Railways are back and better than ever in a new home: forum.trains.com. After a brief hiatus, we’re thrilled to announce that we have successfully migrated nearly 70,000 users and an impressive 250,000 posts to our new platform. For those who’ve […]

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Railroads ramp up the use of artificial intelligence

Train with yellow locomotives in Utah mountains

CHICAGO — Artificial intelligence is weaving itself into the daily operations of big U.S. railroads, helping managers make data-backed decisions about operating plans and identify trends among virtually any process. As railroads migrate from mainframe-based systems to cloud-based platforms with real-time data components, railroads are plugging in generative AI — machine-learning tools — to make […]

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New company uses cameras to inform public of blocked railroad crossings

Intermodal train with black locomotives

ELKHART, Ind. — Newly installed cameras that automatically feed real-time information to a website are helping first responders and the general public know when trains are occupying grade crossings near the northern Indiana town of Goshen, Ind., near Elkhart. BlockedCrossings, a private company, recently installed eight cameras at intersections in and south of Goshen, Ind., […]

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Kansas officials say extension of Heartland Flyer could cost up to $573 million in infrastructure work

Time-exposure photo of passenger train blurred as it passes station building at night

TOPEKA, Kan. — It could cost as much as $573 million for infrastructure work to accommodate an extension of Heartland Flyer service to connect with the Southwest Chief in Newton, Kan., Kansas Department of Transportation officials said today (Dec. 11). A northward extension of the Oklahoma City-Fort Worth, Texas, train was among 69 possible routes […]

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Alstom edges toward completion of Acela order

HORNELL, N.Y. — Alstom has produced 270 units of its Amtrak order for 28 Acela Avelia Liberty trainsets and expects to see the 160-mph trains inaugurated in spring 2025, four years after the railroad had planned to introduce the premium Northeast Corridor service. That was the forecast offered by Alstom officials last week during a […]

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Legislator seeks to block federal funding for California high speed rail

Rendering of first car silver high speed train

WASHINGTON — A Northern California member of Congress said he will introduce legislation to prevent further federal funding for California’s high speed rail project, a target of two advisors to President-elect Donald Trump. U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Roseville, Calif.) said in a press release that the legislation would make the project ineligible for additional federal […]

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Central Oregon & Pacific will operate nearly 28 miles of Union Pacific trackage under lease deal

WASHINGTON — Genesee & Wyoming short line Central Oregon & Pacific will lease and operate nearly 28 miles of Union Pacific trackage in the Eugene, Ore., area as part of its deal to take over the Class I railroad’s local switching operations. Details about the transaction, which was announced yesterday, appeared in a regulatory filing […]

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NJ Transit awards contract for major bridge project

Aerial view of bridge under construction

NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit’s board of directors has awarded the construction project for the lift portion of the new Raritan River Bridge, which will replace a 116-year-old swing bridge on its North Jersey Coast Line. Skanska Koch Inc. of Carteret, N.J., was selected for the project. The contract is worth a maximum of $444.4 […]

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Traffic growth will flow from Pan Am track and service improvements, CSX says

Front of a train

WASHINGTON – CSX has nearly completed track and signal upgrades on the former Pan Am Railways, which the Class I says has improved service and will jump-start traffic growth in New England. When CSX acquired Pan Am for $600 million in 2022, the threadbare 1,700-mile regional railroad’s former Boston & Maine and Maine Central routes […]

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Carload Considerations: Will pricing above inflation work indefinitely?

Freight train on curve, with front in sunlight but approaching shadows

I recently sifted through each of the publicly traded Class I railroads’ third-quarter earnings webcasts to get a consensus on revenue and volume expectations headed into the New Year [see “What Wall Street analysts are asking …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 6, 2024]. A consistent theme is railroads are pricing above inflation. This means that […]

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