WASHINGTON — Amtrak ridership grew 5% in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2025, and revenue surged 11%, as robust Northeast Regional gains offset fewer Acela frequencies on the Northeast Corridor. The railroad carried nearly 34.5 million passengers, while ticket revenue was $2.764 billion. The results from the company’s monthly performance reports for 2025 are […]
CHICAGO — Metra’s board of directors has approved a $1.2 billion operating budget for fiscal 2026, eliminating the commuter rail operator’s previously planned fare increase as well as a planned $60 million transfer of operating funds to its capital program. The capital plan for 2026 is budgeted at $515.3 million. The transit bill passed by […]
CHICAGO — Metra has been awarded $19.3 million in its suit against Union Pacific over UP’s decision not to collect fares on Metra trains during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a news report. The suburban Daily Herald newspaper reports a Cook County, Ill., jury delivered the verdict on Wednesday. Metra spokesman Michael Gillis told the […]
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, […]
CHICAGO — Some projects of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency, or CREATE, program are begun and completed with relatively limited fanfare. That is certainly not the case with the Forest Hill Flyover, which carries the tracks of CSX Transportation over lines used by Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, the Belt Railway of Chicago, and […]
WASHINGTON — A coalition of rail and environmental groups has submitted comments to the Surface Transportation Board on the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger, asking the board to clarify whether “substantive filings” from stakeholders other than parties directly involved would be part of the review process. The organizations — the Rail Passengers Association, Southern Rail […]
Love them or hate them, it was only a matter of time before Siemens Mobility’s Charger diesel locomotives made their way into the model railroading world. Sunset Models 3rd Rail has taken the lead in producing both the SC-44 and ALC-42 types in O scale. These 2- and 3-rail models were announced in 2022 and […]
Trains.com Staff Writer Lucas Iverson reviews the highly-anticipated Sunset Models | 3rd Rail precise O scale (1:48, 2-rail & 3-rail options) Siemens SC-44 Charger locomotive, Amtrak Midwest No. 4630! This video review features an up-close workbench inspection of the model’s incredible prototype fidelity, from the well-detailed cab interior to the iconic cooling grills to the […]
WASHINGTON — The ongoing dispute between Metra and Union Pacific over commuter rail operations in the Chicago area was back before the Surface Transportation Board as the board resumed activity following the shutdown of the federal government. Both parties filed a joint status report on negotiations today (Nov. 13), while Metra offered a fairly brief […]
MONTREAL — The union engaged in what was to have been a month-long strike against Montreal’s public transit agency has suspended its job action — but another strike will shut down the system this Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 15-16. The Syndicat du Transport de Montréal, which represents maintenance workers, began a walkout on Nov. 2 […]
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 […]
CHICAGO — Commuters arriving today (Nov. 12) at the Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago — the former Chicago & North Western commuter terminal that serves Metra’s UP North, Northwest, and West lines — today may have been a bit surprised to find a train on Track 6 that was definitely not the usual Metra […]
