NEW YORK — Amtrak announced on Friday, June 28, that had awarded a construction contract to build a new Connecticut River Bridge on the Northeast Corridor to replace the existing 116-year-old structure. A joint venture of O&G/Tutor Perini received the contract award for the $1.3 billion project, which has received a $827 million Federal Railroad […]
NEWARK, N.J. — Amtrak and NJ Transit have committed to work together to address operational issues that have been plaguing both services on the Northeast Corridor, including more frequent inspections of their equipment and the 170 miles of track they share between New York and Trenton, N.J. The two agencies made that pledge after a […]
WASHINGTON — The process that determines how much money Amtrak will receive for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2024, began Wednesday with release of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Committee’s “Department of Transportation Appropriation Act of 2025.” Funding levels for the U.S. DOT and its related highway, rail, and […]
WASHINGTON — New Jersey’s congressional delegation is requesting that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg investigate Amtrak issues on the Northeast Corridor that have led to what a letter calls a “commuting nightmare” on one recent morning, as well as a series of other recent disruptions. The June 25 letter, signed by all 11 House members from […]
HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. — CSX has reopened one track of its two-track main line at Harpers Ferry, W.Va., about 3:30 a.m. today (Tuesday, June 25) and expected the other to be reopened by midday following Monday’s fire on the bridge across the Potomac River. The Hagerstown Herald-Mail reports railroad spokesman Bryan Tucker wrote in an […]
HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. — CSX’s double-track main line at Harpers Ferry has been shut down after a reported bridge deck fire this afternoon (Monday, June 24), leading to a cancellation of Amtrak’s Capitol Limited and disrupting freight service and MARC commuter rail operations. Eyewitness photos looking east from the original Baltimore & Ohio train station […]
LORTON, Va. — Amtrak has begun testing its Siemens Charger ALC42 long-distance locomotives in Auto Train service, with two of the diesels making their first appearance as part of a four-locomotive consist on the southbound train on Friday, June 21. Photographer Sol Tucker shot the locomotives putting the train together in Lorton; Nathan Richters photographed […]
WASHINGTON — Responding to criticisms from members of Congress in a House hearing last week, Amtrak has posted a 14-page PowerPoint presentation aiming to justify a controversial incentive system that pays millions of dollars in bonuses to company executives. Board Chairman Anthony Coscia said the compensation of senior executives would be posted on the Amtrak […]
MOBILE, Ala. — A once-unlikely source — the Alabama State Port Authority — has agreed to provide a share of the funding needed to launch Amtrak service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. On Tuesday, the Port Authority board, once a vehement opponent of Gulf Coast service on the grounds it might interfere with freight […]
BOSTON –— The economic benefits of linking Boston’s North and South stations would far outweigh the costs of the project and would be a better use of taxpayer dollars than simply expanding South Station as a stopgap to relieve congestion, according to a study released on Monday. U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., requested the study […]
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — After more than a month with no mention in the “Passenger Advisories” section of Amtrak’s website that the New York-Montreal Adirondack wasn’t running north of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., the passenger operator has acknowledged that the summertime hiatus will extend until Sept. 9. The “Modified Adirondack Service” notice appeared a week after […]
The Rapido Trains N scale Turboliner, based on the Rohr Industries prototype from the mid-1970s, recently paid a visit to our Milwaukee, Racine & Troy State Line Route layout. Join Senior Editor Cody Grivno as he shares a brief history of the RTL Turboliner, points out the details on a 5-car set, and demonstrates the […]
