NEW YORK — Amtrak is now offering tickets on Northeast Corridor trains that will debut the long-delayed NextGen Acela trainsets, and has announced which trains will feature the equipment, as well as highlighting those trains with a “NextGen” icon on the booking portion of its website and app. The company announced that addition to its […]
WASHINGTON — The Long Island Rail Road could face a strike by or lockout of five unions as soon as Sept. 18 after the National Mediation board announced it had released the commuter operator and those unions from mediation required by the Railway Labor Act. The unions involved are the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers […]
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania Congressman says he has been told that Amtrak’s Keystone Service — the Harrisburg-Philadelphia-New York route offering 13 weekday round trips — could be in jeopardy if state legislators don’t address the funding crisis that has the Southeastern Regional Transportation Authority planning major service cuts. The online news site Pennsylvania Capital-Star […]
Lionel Trains continued celebrating their 125th anniversary with the release of their Volume 2 catalog in mid July. First, an interesting note: the second Lionel catalog has typically been called Volume 2. This one was called “July Release.” I wonder if there will be another catalog release before the end of the year? Stay […]
CUMBERLAND, Md. — The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad has acquired former Conemaugh & Black Lick Railroad SW7 locomotive No. 111, a fully functional EMD end-cab switcher which the railroad plans to use on some of its seasonal excursion trains. The locomotive built in 1949 is the last of 25 such locomotives that served the railroad […]
NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board has approved a $1.97 billion contract for tunnel boring to extend the Second Avenue Subway, a 1.5-mile addition to extend the Q Line from 116th Street to 125th Street, and then west along 125th Street to Park Avenue in East Harlem. The contract approved today (Monday, Aug. […]
PHILADELPHIA — The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has removed some of its electric multiple-unit railcars from service for inspections related to two fires earlier this year, leading to delays and cancellations of some Regional Rail service. In an Aug. 14 press release, SEPTA said it has been cancelling some trips because “out of an abundance […]
PHILADELPHIA — The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority will begin service cuts on Aug. 24 after the agency’s Thursday, Aug. 14, deadline passed for funding to avert the service reductions. According to a statement from the agency released early today (Aug. 15, 2025), “With no new funding secured, SEPTA must proceed with work to implement service […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific has bolstered its lobbyist efforts on Capitol Hill to support its effort to merge with Norfolk Southern. Politico reports the railroad has hired a team from the firm of Squire Patton Boggs led by former U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), who spent 18 years in the House, including six as chair […]
NEW YORK — Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen have ratified a two-year contract extension with the New York & Atlantic Railway, the union has announced. The agreement includes a $1 per hour pay increase to all pay grades effective June 1, 2025, as well as two raises totaling 8% through the […]
TILTON, N.H. — Dwight A. Smith, founder of the Conway Scenic Railroad, has died at age 100. Smith, a U.S. Navy veteran who served in World War II, had been living at the New Hampshire Veterans Home in Tilton since 2020. The Conway Scenic said in a statement that it “mourns the passing of its […]
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate has passed a funding bill that would largely use capital funding to maintain transit operations, a move the state’s governor and Democratically-controlled House say is not a viable solution to the funding shortfall that could lead to major service cuts in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The Philadelphia-area Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation […]
