SEATTLE – After months of periodic sellouts at the 50% capacity limit on a single Seattle-Eugene, Ore., round trip — the only daily Cascades corridor service for more than a year — the Washington and Oregon Departments of Transportation plan to add two additional round trips on May 24. But because Talgo, Amtrak, and the […]
STB prepares for passenger rail oversight, will consider office, advisory group for passenger issues The Surface Transportation Board has created a staff working group to prepare the board for its oversight of passenger rail issues, board chairman Martin J. Oberman has announced. Under a recently enacted Federal Railroad Adminstration rule, the STB oversees standards for […]
CHICAGO — Amtrak’s announcement that it will lift capacity restrictions on coach seating can’t come soon enough for long-distance train passengers. They continue to face limited availability at the highest “flexible” fares, or outright sellouts on many routes, because otherwise-idle equipment has not been added to service with consistently strong patronage since triweekly operation began […]
Opponents sue FRA over decisions on Texas Central high speed project Texans Against High Speed Rail, six Texas counties, and 10 individual landowners have filed suit against the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Railroad Administration over the proposed Texas Central high speed project between Dallas and Houston, seeking to void the FRA’s Rule of […]
From January 2019 Trains When the Southwest Chief rumbles across New Mexico’s Raton Pass, with sleeping-car passengers paying as much as $1,058 to ride in a roomette, what is the train’s revenue-versus-cost effect on Amtrak’s bottom line? According to the “route level results” of the fiscal 2017 performance report, the Chicago-Los Angeles train generated $49.9 […]
Metrorail Commission says DC Metro moving the wrong way on safety issues The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, the independent agency created by Congress to oversee DC Metro safety issues, says the transit agency is moving the wrong way in terms of such basics as making sure trains stop for red signals and following worker safety […]
Three Siemens Venture coaches and two Charger locomotives depart Chicago on Monday, April 12, for Effingham, Ill. The cars will test through through Thursday of this week, evaluating the new equipment’s ability to effectively shunt electric current between rails on Canadian National’s former Illinois Central trackage. Since 2006, the railroad has imposed a minimum axle […]
DENVER — Four Democrats and two Republicans have introduced a bill in the Colorado Senate to establish the Front Range Passenger Rail District, extending across the state from the Wyoming state line to the New Mexico line, to plan, build, operate and maintain passenger service connecting the major cities along the east side of the […]
Stadtler named as first executive director of Virginia Passenger Rail Authority Donald A. (DJ) Stadtler Jr. has been named as the first executive director of the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority, the agency established by the state legislature in 2020 to promote, sustain, and expand passenger and commuter rail service in the state. Gov. Ralph Northam […]
Vermont agency announces July 19 return for Amtrak service Amtrak service in Vermont will resume July 19, the state Agency of Transportation has announced. Intercity bus service will also resume on that date. “We are very pleased to announce the restart of these vital transportation services for Vermonters and those who wish to travel to […]
Northeast Corridor testing for Amtrak’s new Acela trainsets continues, with the second of the new trains set for about two weeks of testing on the North end of the corridor, including operation at speeds up to 165 mph on high speed trackage in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.It will also spend time in Boston for maintenance […]
Miami-Dade applies for federal grant to help fund Miami-Aventura commuter rail service Miami-Dade County has applied for federal funding for its proposed Miami-Aventura commuter rail service which would operate on the southern end of Brightline’s Miami-West Palm Beach route. Miami Today reports the county Department of Transportation and Public Works has submitted an “Infrastructure for […]
