Ticket sales begin for Winter Park Express; service starts Dec. 19

Passenger train in snow with people waiting to board

DENVER — Amtrak’s Winter Park Express ski train will return for the 2025-26 season on Dec. 19, albeit with slightly fewer days than were offered when operations were expanded a year ago. The train will operate total of 57 days this season, and will run four days a week — Thursdays through Sundays — beginning […]

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Sunset Models | 3rd Rail GE P42 & Siemens Charger O scale locomotives unboxed

Trains.com Staff Writer Lucas Iverson and Classic Toy Trains’ Editor Rene Schweitzer unbox an all-new, precise O scale (1:48, 2-rail & 3-rail options) Siemens Charger and a GE P42DC locomotives from Sunset Models | 3rd Rail, manufacturers now aligned under Third & Townsend! Plus, you’ll also see a bonus unboxing of a unique, O gauge […]

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Sunset Models | 3rd Rail GE P42 & Siemens Charger O scale locomotives unboxed

Trains.com Staff Writer Lucas Iverson and Classic Toy Trains’ Editor Rene Schweitzer unbox an all-new, precise O scale (1;48, 2-rail & 3-rail options) Siemens Charger and a GE P42DC locomotives from Sunset Models | 3rd Rail, manufacturers now aligned under Third & Townsend! Plus, you’ll also see a bonus unboxing of a unique, O gauge […]

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Amtrak San Joaquins renamed as Gold Runner

Passenger train stopped at station with bus waiting across platform

STOCKTON, Calif. — The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority has made official its rebrand of Amtrak’s San Joaquins as Gold Runner trains. The move came on Monday, Nov. 3, and was effective immediately. Trains.com had previously reported plans for the move as part of a report on other changes for San Joaquins and Capitol Corridor […]

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Illinois transit bill could boost Quad Cities passenger rail project

Passenger train stops at station

MOLINE, Ill. — The transit bill passed early Friday (Oct. 31) by Illinois legislators doesn’t just address the financial needs and governing structure of transit operations in the Chicago area. Tucked into the bill’s more than 1,000 pages are two provisions that legislators say should boost the long-running effort to launch rail passenger service between […]

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Amtrak issues information request for eventual scrapping of Amfleet cars

Amtrak Northeast Corridor train led by cab car with orange and black nose stripes

WASHINGTON — The end may not be near — given Amtrak’s current, chronic capacity shortage, exacerbated by last spring’s sudden withdrawal of the Horizon coach fleet — but the company has begun the lengthy process of selling off its most productive and enduring assets: stainless steel Amfleet coaches and cafes that began arriving from the […]

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Full Hartford Line service to Springfield, Mass., to resume on Saturday

Logo of CTRail Hartford Line

HARTFORD, Conn. — Full Amtrak and CTRail service on the Hartford Line will resume between Hartford and Springfield, Mass., on Saturday (Nov. 1), following the completion of track projects that led to long-term substitution of buses for some trains. In all, 10 trains will be restored north of Hartford: — Northbound: CTRail train 4400 (departing […]

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Process begins to select ‘master developer’ for revamp of New York’s Penn Station

NEW YORK — The Amtrak-led project to redevelop New York’s Penn Station announced several steps forward on Thursday, most notably a call for the project’s master developer. A 98-page request for letters of interest available at Amtrak’s procurement site describes the project as a “a comprehensive redevelopment … to transform the station into a modern […]

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Amtrak urges passengers to book early for Thanksgiving

crowds in station

WASHINGTON — Amtrak is advising passengers to book early for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday period to get the best prices and ensure seating, saying it is expecting record-breaking ridership based on early bookings. Last year, the company saw 1.2 million riders during the Thanksgiving season. The company will add cars to Northeast Regional routes between […]

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Amtrak service to Newport News, Va., remains suspended after CSX derailment (updated)

Overturned coal hopper next to bridge

RICHMOND, Va. — Amtrak service between Richmond and Newport News, Va., will now remain suspended until Monday, Nov. 3, as the result of last weekend’s CSX derailment, the passenger operator has announced in an update on Thursday, Oct. 30. Amtrak had previously announced that service would be suspended until Nov. 1. The 70-mile Richmond-Newport News […]

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Amtrak’s Chicago train wash open for business; other locations to follow

Train moving through small building across tracks

CHICAGO— The questions “what took so long?” and “when will the others be operational?” weren’t entirely answered Thursday, Oct. 23, when Trains was among those invited to observe, along with Amtrak president Roger Harris, the workings of the long-overdue train wash located near the south end of the company’s 16th Street coach yard. “Each one […]

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MTA says Penn Access project will take an additional three years to complete (updated)

Illustraiton showing planned station for MTA Penn Access project

NEW YORK — Completion of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Penn Access project, which will bring Metro-North trains to Penn Station and add four new stations in the Bronx, will likely be pushed back by three years to 2030 because of Amtrak’s failure to meet its obligations to the project, MTA executives said at a meeting […]

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