SALT LAKE CITY — Stadler and Caltrain have signed an agreement covering technical support for the commuter operator’s fleet of Stadler-built electric multiple-unit trainsets, the manufacturer has announced. The Technical Support and Spare Supply Agreement, or TSSSA, covers on-site technical support, maintenance management software, material management for preventive and corrective maintenance, and diagnostic assists. It […]
CHICAGO — If there were two messages hammered home during a press conference to celebrate the latest federal funding for the CREATE project, they were these: CREATE may be a local program, but it has national implications. And it is the textbook example of public-private partnership. The event today (Friday, Dec. 13) was to mark […]
CHICAGO — Artificial intelligence is weaving itself into the daily operations of big U.S. railroads, helping managers make data-backed decisions about operating plans and identify trends among virtually any process. As railroads migrate from mainframe-based systems to cloud-based platforms with real-time data components, railroads are plugging in generative AI — machine-learning tools — to make […]
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold has led his team to a run at a playoff berth this season. On Monday, Dec. 9, Darnold and the team made another kind of run: they took a ride on the North Pole Express powered by Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 No. 261 at St. Paul Union […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has again extended the mediation process for Union Pacific and Metra as they try to work out the details of the transfer of Metra operation on three UP-owned routes. The board granted UP’s request — agreed to by Metra — to extend the mediation period through Jan. 31, 2025. […]
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — NJ Transit has begun work on a new facility to provide storage for locomotive and railcars that protects against flooding, a project reflecting the impact of 2012’s Hurricane Sandy. Groundbreaking was held today (Dec. 12) for the County Yard/Delco Lead Storage and Inspection Facility project, to be built along the Northeast […]
ELKHART, Ind. — Newly installed cameras that automatically feed real-time information to a website are helping first responders and the general public know when trains are occupying grade crossings near the northern Indiana town of Goshen, Ind., near Elkhart. BlockedCrossings, a private company, recently installed eight cameras at intersections in and south of Goshen, Ind., […]
NEW YORK — About 3,500 people had to be evacuated from two disabled New York City Transit subway trains Wednesday evening after a power outage in Brooklyn — a process that took almost three hours. CBS News reports power was knocked out between the Jay Street-MetroTech and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street stations about 5:30 p.m., disrupting service […]
HOUSTON — The mayor of Houston says the city will build a pedestrian bridge over Union Pacific tracks where a high school student was killed earlier this week, and wants the railroad to pay for at least some of the project. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Mayor John Whitmore […]
NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has added to bus service to help offset an upcoming 17-week shutdown of the New York City Transit subway A line to the Rockaway Peninsula. The MTA had previously announced measures including free shuttle buses, shuttle trains on the peninsula, and discounted Long Island Rail Road fares [see […]
TOPEKA, Kan. — It could cost as much as $573 million for infrastructure work to accommodate an extension of Heartland Flyer service to connect with the Southwest Chief in Newton, Kan., Kansas Department of Transportation officials said today (Dec. 11). A northward extension of the Oklahoma City-Fort Worth, Texas, train was among 69 possible routes […]
WASHINGTON — Genesee & Wyoming short line Central Oregon & Pacific will lease and operate nearly 28 miles of Union Pacific trackage in the Eugene, Ore., area as part of its deal to take over the Class I railroad’s local switching operations. Details about the transaction, which was announced yesterday, appeared in a regulatory filing […]
