New York MTA opens facility to inspect, test subway equipment

Interior of servicing facility for subway equipment

NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has opened a new Railcar Acceptance and Testing Facility, where the MTA will inspect and test new subway cars and other equipment before it is placed into service. The facility — the first new subway-car facility opened by the MTA since 1948 — is near the South Brooklyn Marine […]

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Metro-North’s temporary Penn Access service would require Long Island Rail Road cuts, Amtrak says

Electric passenger locomotive passes construction workers and machinery

NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority would have to reduce Long Island Rail Road service into New York’s Penn Station to accommodate its proposal for temporary Metro-North service on its Penn Access route through the Bronx, according to Amtrak — which MTA CEO Janno Lieber says is not an option. In a paywalled article, […]

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New York City Transit worker suspended after unauthorized outside work

Logo of the MTA office of the inspector general

NEW YORK — A New York City Transit maintenance worker earned more than $300,000 in unauthorized outside work and repeatedly violated rest rules while performing that work, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Inspector General says in a report issued Thursday (Nov. 20). The worker received a five-month suspension and a final warning, according to a press […]

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BLET announces tentative agreement with SEPTA

Logo of Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union

PHILADELPHIA — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has reached a tentative one-year deal with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, a rare bit of good news for the problem-plagued transit agency. The union announced that the deal, covering engineers who operate Regional Rail trains, would include a 5% pay increase effective July 5, 2026. […]

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News photos: CN marks 30th anniversary of privatization

Ten people standing in front of red CN banner with confetti falling

Canadian National Railway celebrated the 30th anniversary of its privatization on Tuesday (Nov. 17), with CEO Tracy Robinson and Shauneen Bruder, chair of the railroad’s board of directors, marking the event by ringing the opening bell at the Toronto Stock Exchange and the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. CN raised Ca$2.25 billion […]

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The Erie’s Otisville tunnel

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The concrete west portal of Erie’s Otisville (N.Y.) tunnel — from which a Berkshire-powered freight emerges — is fairly simple, but with pilasters and the inscription “19–OTISVILLE–08” in embossed lettering overhead. Note the early installation of welded rail on the eastward track. Wayne Brumbaugh photo […]

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Train Guys Christmas Toy Train exhibit dates set for 2025

section of colorful layout

The Elizabethtown Public Library in Elizabethtown, Pa. has announced dates and times for the popular annual Train Guys Christmas Toy Train exhibit.  The display is 65 feet long by 18 feet wide and capable of running 20 trains simultaneously. It features 53 pushbuttons on the display’s perimeter, where visitors can activate trains and accessories. New […]

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SEPTA meets deadline for Silverliner IV inspections

Men working on roof of railcar

PHILADELPHIA — The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has completed inspections of its Silverliner IV electric multiple-unit railcars, the agency says, but the amount of Regional Rail equipment available will remain significantly constrained until cars can be repaired. SEPTA originally faced an Oct. 31 deadline for inspection of the 233-car fleet following a series of fires, […]

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Chessie System freight at Keystone Viaduct

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An SD40 and GP9 hold back a westbound freight as they descend Sand Patch Grade a couple of miles west of Sand Patch, Pa., on the former Baltimore & Ohio. The bridge overhead carried the Western Maryland main line, which was rendered redundant when B&O and WM came under common Chessie System control. David Dudjak […]

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Owner of masonry firm receives more than seven-year sentence in Amtrak bribery case

Aerial view of large railroad station next to river

PHILADELPHIA — The owner of an Indiana masonry firm has been sentenced to 7½ years in prison for his part in a long-running case involving bribery and fraud in the renovation of Amtrak’s 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. Mark Snedden, 70, of Munster, Ind., was sentenced on Oct. 1 to 90 months in prison, a […]

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News photos: Reading & Northern introduces Semiquincentennial unit

Overhead view of red, white, and blue locomotive

PORT CLINTON, Pa. — The Reading & Northern Railroad has repainted one of its locomotives to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence in 2026. SD40-2 No. 3061, repainted and renumbered to No. 1776, was unveiled on Nov. 11, Veterans’ Day. The flag-based scheme, with its red-and-white striped long hood, blue cab, and 13 stars […]

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SEPTA cancellations to continue through Friday

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority logo

PHILADELPHIA — Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority Regional Rail service continues to be hammered by the effects of inspections of its Silverliner IV railcars, with the agency announcing plans to cancel 22 trains both today (Thursday, Nov. 13) and Friday, Nov. 14. The same trains will have been cancelled all five days this week. Set for […]

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