SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco is far from a center of cutting-edge computer technology — when it comes to its light rail system. KGO-TV reports that a portion of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, or Muni, rail system still uses an Automatic Train Control system installed in 1998 that requires its software to be […]
The much-anticipated Krauss-Maffei ML-4000 diesel-hydraulic locomotive is now available from PIKO America. The newly tooled model, based on the 1961 prototype, has an injection-molded plastic body, die-cast metal chassis, and can motor with dual flywheels. Prototype history The PIKO America models are decorated as Southern Pacific 9000, 9001, and 9002 in their as-delivered appearance. The […]
Railroad places to visit 1. GOAT LICK TRESTLE: Fast-paced action of BNSF’s northern transcon and the beauty of Glacier National Park, plus live GN goats. 2. CAJON PASS: Busy mainline mountain crossing for both BNSF and Union Pacific leaving LA. 3. TEHACHAPI: Mind-boggling over-and-under loop in Southern California sees more than 40 trains a day. […]
LOS ANGELES — The long-awaited, much-needed people mover system at Los Angeles International Airport, which was originally expected to be finished this year, may not be complete until late 2025, the Los Angeles Times reports. The $2 billion, 2.25-mile automated, elevated rail system will connect airport terminals with parking lots, a new central rental car […]
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — A former Caltrain official, as well as a former contractor for the commuter agency, are facing felony charges after allegedly spending public funds to secretly build themselves small apartments inside two of the agency’s train stations, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Joseph Vincent Navarro, 66, formerly of the Bay Area […]
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 […]
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 […]
PUEBLO, Colo. — Stadler Rail’s hydrogen powered multiple-unit passenger trainset has set a record by traveling more than 1,700 miles without refueling or recharging. The FLIRT H2 trainset, destined for use on the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority’s Arrow service, covered 1,741.7 miles on the test loop at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo. The […]
SAN CARLOS, Calif. — Caltrain will upgrade safety at five grade crossings after receiving $1 million in federal funding as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, the commuter rail agency has announced. Funds will improve grade crossings at two crossings in San Francisco (16th Street and Mission Bay Drive), as well as Whipple Avenue in […]
WASHINGTON — Five rail-related projects are among those selected for funding under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation, or SMART, grant program announced last week by the U.S. DOT. A total of 34 projects in 22 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico received grants totaling $54 million under the […]
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Regular Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink commuter rail service through San Clemente is slated to resume Monday, March 25, after two months of disruptions because of the latest in a series of landslides along the Surf Line in the South Orange County community. The Orange County Transportation Authority announced today (Tuesday, […]
DEL MAR, Calif. — Construction will begin this month on a three-year, $78 million project to stabilize the Del Mar Bluffs along the Surf Line rail line, the Times of San Diego reports. The segment along the Pacific Ocean has long been a source of erosion and occasional line closures on the route used by […]
