News & Products for the week of February 9th 2026

An orange model freight car end with a black coal load visible in the freight car

News & Products for the week of February 9th 2026   Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of February 9th […]

Read More…

Toronto’s Eglinton Crosstown opens

Crowd of people in underground light rail station

TORONTO — Toronto’s Eglinton Crosstown light rail line opened on Sunday, Feb. 8, some 15 years after construction began and six years after it was supposed to be completed. The CBC reports it took 55 minutes for the first westbound train to cover the 19 kilometers (11.8 miles) from the Kennedy station to Mount Dennis […]

Read More…

BNSF, Union Pacific deliver perfect peak seasons for intermodal customers

BNSF Railway and Union Pacific say they delivered perfect peak seasons for their parcel customers during the holiday rush of 2025. BNSF says its teams safely delivered more than 80 million parcel shipments on time — a 9% increase over volumes in the Thanksgiving-to-Christmas period of 2024. “Every year at BNSF, we come together to […]

Read More…

CSX signs $670 million locomotive deal with Wabtec

New blue and yellow locomotives

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX has signed a $670 million deal with Wabtec to upgrade its locomotive fleet with 100 new locomotives and 50 modernized units, as well as related digital systems. The deal calls for new Evolution Series locomotives as well as DC-to-AC upgrades for Dash-9 locomotives. It is the latest in a flurry of […]

Read More…

MxV Rail offering student grant program for AAR Research Review

Logo of MxV Rail

PUEBLO, Colo. — MxV Rail is launching a student travel grant program to enable future rail researchers and engineers to attend this year’s Association of American Railroads Research Review, set for April 28-30, 2026, at MxV Rail’s facility in Pueblo. The program will provide up to $1,500 in travel reimbursement for the event as well […]

Read More…

Trump administration appeals decision releasing Hudson Tunnel funds

Construction zone with large concrete trench

NEW YORK — The Trump administration has moved to appeal a federal court decision ordering it to release funds it is withholding from the Hudson Tunnel project. Reuters reports the administration filed the notice of appeal on Sunday, Feb. 8, to address the decision Friday by U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas. That decision granted a […]

Read More…

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum seeks help after theft of donations

Logo of Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum is appealing for public assistance after funds in the museum’s donation box were stolen on Feb. 3. In a Facebook post, Tabitha Lusk, the museum’s food and beverage director, posted photos and videos related to the break-in and is asking that anyone who can provide information contact […]

Read More…

Weather issues with Siemens equipment lead to VIA Rail cancellations

New passenger equipment in shop building

OTTAWA, Ontario — Fleet availability for VIA Rail Canada’s Siemens Venture trainsets has dropped below 50% this winter, leading to a series of train cancellations over seven days that began on Saturday, Feb. 7, according to the nonprofit transit advocacy group Transport Action Canada. The organization reports that VIA has begun turning the trainsets, which […]

Read More…

BNSF agrees to new standards for transport of plastic pellets

Train of covered hoppers

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Environmental group San Diego Coastkeeper has announced an agreement with BNSF Railway for development of rules for safe transportation of plastic pellets, also known as nurdles — the raw material for the production of almost all plastic products. The agreement, announced Thursday, Feb. 5, also involves the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation […]

Read More…

Shelter-in-place order lifted at site of Connecticut derailment

Logo of the New England Central Railroad

MANSFIELD, Conn. — The town of Mansfield has lifted the shelter-in-place order enacted following Thursday’s derailment of a New England Central train, the town announced this morning (Feb. 7, 2026). State Route 32 remains closed for a 1-mile stretch between U.S. Route 44 and State Route 275, according to an update on the town website. […]

Read More…

Judge orders funds released for Hudson Tunnel project

Aerial view of tunnel construction work along shore of Hudson River

NEW YORK — A federal judge on Friday ordered the federal government to release funding for the Hudson Tunnel project while a lawsuit moves forward, setting the stage for construction to ramp back up. The decision by U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas came in the suit brought by the attorneys general of New York […]

Read More…