DAVIS, W.Va. — The last operating coal mine on the right-of-way of the original Western Maryland Railway, a facility in the mountains of rural northeastern West Virginia, is slated for closure this spring. Mettiki Coal’s Mountain View Mine, owned by Alliance Resource Partners, announced on Jan. 29 its plans to lay off nearly 200 employees […]
MUNSTER, Ind. — One aspect of the Federal Railroad Administration’s certification process for any new passenger route before revenue service begins is to supervise simulated scheduled operations. These replicate actual service except for a lack of passengers. Wednesday and today (Feb. 4-5), Northern Indiana Commuter Transit District personnel began those tests along the 8-mile Monon […]
NEW YORK — Amtrak has experienced another significant round of equipment-related train cancellations, with some 20 trains scrubbed before the start of operations today (Feb. 5) on the Northeast Corridor. The same 20 trains will also be cancelled on Friday (Feb. 6). Early today, the company announced the cancellation of seven Acela trips, 10 Northeast […]
MANSFIELD, Conn. — A shelter-in-place order remained in effect as of 4 p.m. ET near the site of a derailment of a New England Central train today (Feb. 5), but no leaks have been detected among derailed cars carrying liquid propane. The shelter-in-place order was issued shortly after the derailment at 9:22 a.m. in the […]
WHITSON, Ala. — Norfolk Southern’s export metallurgical coal business is getting a significant boost with the completion of Warrior Met Coal’s Blue Creek Mine near Whitson, Ala., northwest of Birmingham. The $1 billion longwall mine and balloon loadout track has the ability to load up to 10 unit trains per week and produce up to […]
HARTFORD, Conn. — Commuter rail service in Connecticut would remain at current levels under the fiscal 2027 budget plan introduced Wednesday, Feb. 4, by Gov. Ned Lamont. The budget, which would take effect this July 1, calls for a funding increase of $19.66 million for rail service and $9.4 million for buses, as costs “continue […]
TORONTO — GO Transit’s operating problems from a Monday derailment will extend into a fifth day, with the commuter rail service continuing to run a reduced schedule through Friday, provincial transit agency Metrolinx said this afternoon (Thursday, Feb. 5). The regular schedule is now projected to resume on Saturday, Feb. 7. “Our crews are continuing […]
ALBANY, N.Y. — Plans for Metro-North Railroad to operate trains between Grand Central Terminal and Albany may have run aground because Amtrak feared competition from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, MTA CEO Janno Lieber said in an interview this week. Appearing on public broadcaster WCNY’s Capitol Pressroom podcast during a visit to Albany to testify on […]
NEW YORK — Officials in New York and New Jersey filed suit against the Trump administration on Tuesday evening, Feb. 3, over funds being withheld for the Hudson River Tunnel project, the second action in as many days to try to free funding before the project must shut down. New Jersey’s acting Attorney General, Jennifer […]
WASHINGTON — Insufficient track protection for a maintenance project along the right-of-way was the probable cause for an accident that saw a worker struck by a Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority train in an Oct. 19, 2024, incident, the National Transportation Safety Board said in an investigation report released today (Feb. 4, 2026). The employee […]
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers, mayors, and union members were among those who gathered on Tuesday, Feb. 3 — the third anniversary of the Palestine, Ohio, derailment and hazardous-materials release — for a press conference pushing for passage of rail safety legislation introduced exactly one year earlier. U.S. Reps. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), Mike Rulli (R-Ohio), and John […]
CHICAGO — Amtrak has extended cancellations on a number of Midwestern routes for several days following a week of well-publicized ice storms and heavy snows. Those conditions caused thousands of airline cancellations nationwide, as well as the suspension of the City of New Orleans and Texas Eagle for days through the central U.S. [see “Amtrak […]
