PITTSBURGH — New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority has approved the use of new Wabtec battery-diesel hybrid locomotives for maintenance operations across its subway network, the manufacturer has announced. The MTA ordered 25 of the R255 locomotives in 2020 to replace diesel locomotives built in the 1960s and ’70s; to date, four have been delivered, beginning […]
SOUDERTON, Pa. — Norfolk Southern has awarded a $10,000 grant to the Railroad & Industrial Preservation Society Inc. for its restoration of the last intact diesel from the Lehigh & New England Railroad. The funds will be used to rehabilitate the traction motors of Alco S2 No. 611, built in September 1948 and operated by […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has expanded its list of train cancellations for Tuesday, Jan. 7, as a result of the winter storm currently moving across the nation’s midsection. In a service advisory today (Jan. 6, 2025) at 5 p.m. ET, Amtrak announced these Tuesday schedule changes: — Acela Nos. 2103, 2107, 2121 (Boston-Washington) and 2108, 2122, […]
WASHINGTON — Maryland’s MARC Train and Virginia Railway Express will operate on reduced schedules on Tuesday, Jan. 7, as the Washington, D.C., area continues to feel the impact of a significant winter storm. Both operators suspended all service today (Monday, Jan. 6) based on the weather and the decision of the federal government to close […]
CHICAGO — Railroads are navigating the start of the New Year with a far-reaching winter weather system that resulted in measurable snowfalls from central Kansas to Maryland’s eastern seaboard. Kansas City received more than 12 inches of snow over the weekend and 6 to 12 inches of snow fell across much of central Illinois, Indiana, […]
Bitten by the steam bug at an early age, Mitchell Johnson will seize any opportunity to go where operating steam locomotives are being worked on. On the mechanical side, the 19-year-old lends a hand in two 4-8-4 restoration projects: Reading Company T-1 No. 2100 of the American Steam Railroad Preservation Association, Inc., and Chesapeake & […]
WASHINGTON — Both commuter rail operators serving the Washington, D.C., area have suspended operations today (Monday, Jan. 6, 2025) as a winter storm hits the area. Virginia Railway Express announced its decision not to operate about 7:45 p.m. on Sunday night, citing both the weather and the decision to close federal offices in Washington today. […]
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is set to propose infrastructure improvements to the Hudson Line used by Metro-North and Amtrak’s Empire Service that could cut travel times by as much as 15 minutes, and reduce Metro-North’s fastest service between Poughkeepsie and New York City to less than 90 minutes. The proposal will […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has announced an extensive list of train cancellations as of today (Saturday, Jan. 4), extending into Tuesday, Jan. 7. Operations from coast to coast are affected as a result of the winter storm currently moving through the center of the country. The cancellations began with Friday’s scheduled departure of the eastbound Southwest […]
NEW YORK — New York’s congestion pricing plan will begin Sunday, Jan. 5, after a judge turned down New Jersey’s last-ditch effort to block the program. Gothamist reports U.S. Judge Leo Gordon said New Jersey’s request to delay the program was “in a nutshell, denied,” in a Friday evening ruling clarifying a 72-page decision earlier […]
BETHESDA, Md. — An official in Montgomery County, Md., has blasted management of the ongoing and much-delayed Purple Line light rail project, saying it will “probably end up being the most expensive light rail project per mile in the world.” The 16-mile, 21-station from Bethesda in Montgomery County to New Carrollton in Prince George’s County […]
An Erie Railroad 2-8-4 Berkshire type leads a train of refrigerator cars over Starrucca Viaduct, on the road’s main line east of Susquehanna, Pa. The stone-arch landmark, 1,200 feet long and 110 feet tall, was built in 1848 and remains in service today. Charles A. Elston photo […]
