Caltrain retires 32 gallery cars

Commuter train with stainless steel bilevel cars

SAN CARLOS, Calif. — Caltrain has retired 32 of its bilevel gallery commuter railcars to make room for coming electrified equipment, sending them to Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit for storage until a buyer can be found, the agency has announced. The nearly 40-year-old cars were built in San Francisco by Nippon Sharyo and entered service […]

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Baltimore bridge tragedy to affect rail traffic with port access blocked (updated)

Metal wreckage and container ship

BALTIMORE — The tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge today (March 26) after a ship strike has cut off the Port of Baltimore’s busiest terminals from Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. At least six people remain unaccounted for after the container ship Dali struck the bridge about 1:28 a.m. today, CNN […]

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Plans for private San Francisco-Los Angeles overnight sleeping car service revived

Passenger train on track paralleling road

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — The company seeking to start a luxury sleeping car train between downtown San Francisco and Los Angeles Union station says it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Union Pacific “formalizing the parties’ negotiations toward a comprehensive final agreement” to begin operations by 2025. A press release issued by Dreamstar Lines […]

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CPKC, shipper urge STB to resolve Texas trackage rights dispute

red, yellow and other colors on a locomotive

WASHINGTON — Canadian Pacific Kansas City says it has shippers lined up to export grain through the ports of Houston and Galveston, but they’re awaiting a regulatory decision regarding whether unit trains can move over Union Pacific trackage rights south of Beaumont, Texas. CPKC told the Surface Transportation Board last week that it has four […]

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Bill seeks privatization of Alaska Railroad

A yellow and blue locomotive rolls along under blue partly cloudy skies with golden vegetation in the foreground

JUNEAU, Alaska — A state legislator has introduced a bill calling for privatization of the Alaska Railroad — although even the bill’s sponsor says the purpose is as much about inspiring discussion as it is about potentially triggering a sale. HB 332, introduced by Rep. Jesse Sumner (R-Wasilla), calls for the state’s governor to request […]

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California Zephyr dome-observation car

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Silver Planet was one of six sleeper-dome-observation cars built by the Budd Co. in 1948 for the California Zephyr, operated between Chicago and Oakland by the Burlington Route, Rio Grande, and Western Pacific. Silver Horizon, Silver Penthouse, and Silver Solarium belonged to the Burlington; Silver Sky to the Rio Grande; and Silver Crescent and Silver […]

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News Photos: Chocolate factory closure further reduces downtown Chicago rail customers

Local switches factory while locomotive moves commuter railcars on overpass

CHICAGO — One of the last industries still receiving freight rail service in downtown Chicago — and one that gave its neighborhood a distinct aroma — is calling it quits. Blommer Chocolate will close its factory at 600 W. Kinzie Street at the end of May because of the increasing costs of running a facility […]

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Brightline bond document revises forecast for 2024 as monthly delivery steadies: Analysis

Brightline train on straight track

MIAMI — As the Spring Break surge approaches, Brightline continues to seek the right pricing strategy when operating 16 daily fixed-consist round trips between South Florida and Orlando, plus another two to handle early morning and late evening Miami-West Palm Beach travel. A password-protected, 2,044-page supplement to a “Preliminary limited remarketing memorandum relating to $770 […]

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Port Authority approves project providing neighborhood access to Newark Airport station on Northeast Corridor

Passenger train with electric locomotive

NEWARK, N.J. — The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has approved a project that will provide the ability for local residents to use the Newark Airport station on the Northeast Corridor, previously accessible only for NJ Transit and Amtrak passengers going to the airport. NorthJersey.com reports the Port Authority board this week […]

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Union Pacific announces three executive retirements, multiple appointments

Union Pacific logo without slogan. UP Bailey Yard explosion appear to be accidental.

OMAHA — Union Pacific has announced the retirement of three executives, along with a series of appointments to new positions. Retiring are Shane Keller, senior vice president-operations, Northern Region; David Giandinoto, senior vice president-operations, Southern Region; and Lee Myers, assistant vice president-risk management, law. Keller has spent 33 years at UP, joining as an operations […]

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