Tri-Rail extension to serve West Palm Beach VA facility would cost almost $100 million

Commuter train crossing low bridge

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A proposed 3-mile extension of Tri-Rail service at the northern end of its route to reach the VA Medical Center in West Palm could cost up to $94 million to build, according to a feasibility study by the commuter rail operator’s parent agency. The study by the South Florida Regional […]

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Last-minute agreement averts Toronto transit strike

Multi-unit light rail vehicle rounding tight curve

TORONTO — A strike by 12,000 Toronto transit workers was averted late Thursday night, with Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 announcing about 11:30 p.m. that it had “reached a framework settlement with the [Toronto Transit Commission] that allows us to put the strike on hold.” The union had planned to walk out at 12:01 a.m. […]

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Metra free-ride weekend to also feature debut of museum car

Commuter train on three-track line surrounded by tall buildings

CHICAGO — Metra’s weekend of free rides to mark its 40th anniversary will also see the debut of the commuter operator’s new museum car at its LaSalle Street station, downtown terminus of the Rock Island District. The commuter operator will offer free rides across its system this Saturday, June 8, and Sunday, June 9, to […]

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Metrolink board approves five-year contract extension for CEO Kettle

Man in front of commuter railcar

LOS ANGELES — Metrolink and CEO Darren Kettle have agreed to a five-year contract extension, the commuter rail operator announced on Thursday. The Metrolink board of directors unanimously agreed to the extension, which runs through September 2029, on May 24. Kettle, formerly executive director of the Ventura County Transportation Commission — one of the five […]

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Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad receives grant to restore track to operation

Steam engine pulls up to water tank

ELBE, Wash. — The Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad has received a $50,000 grant from the Port of Tacoma Local Economic Development Investment Fund for track expansion and restoration between Elbe and New Reliance, Wash., the railroad has announced. The 5.5-mile project will almost double the Mt. Rainier’s operable mileage and move it closer to its […]

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Toronto transit workers say they will walk out at midnight

Low-angle view of subway train in station

TORONTO — The union representing Toronto Transit Commission workers said its members will walk off the job at 12:01 a.m. Friday after seeing “no progress” in negotiations on a new contract today (Thursday, June 6). However, a subsequent union update has left some hope a strike could be averted. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 represents […]

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New York subway track worker in intensive care after being struck by train

Map of subway lines in Brooklyn

NEW YORK — A Metropolitan Transportation Authority employee is in intensive care at a Brooklyn hospital after being struck by a subway train early today (Thursday, June 6). WABC-TV reports the 64-year-old man, serving as a flagger for a group of four other workers performing track inspections, was hit by an out-of-service northbound F train […]

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Teamsters Canada turns down CN offer for binding arbitration

Canadian National logo

MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway said today that it had formally offered binding arbitration to the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference in an effort to reach a new contract. The labor union turned down the offer, made earlier this week, CN said in an update on the dispute between the railroad and its operating crews. CPKC […]

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BNSF train moving molten sulfur derails in Washington state

BNSF Railway logo

CUSTER, Wash. — No injuries were reported and no spills resulted after a BNSF train transporting molten sulfur derailed late Tuesday night, the Bellingham Herald reports. The derailment occurred about 10:45 p.m. near Custer, 14 miles north of Bellingham, Wash., on BNSF’s Bellingham Subdivision, and about 100 miles north of Seattle. Six cars derailed. The […]

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Toronto could face transit strike on Friday

Red and white streetcar in intersection at night

TORONTO — Almost 12,000 Toronto Transit Commission employees, including streetcar and subway operators and bus drivers, could go on strike at 12:01 a.m. Friday — the first such walkout since 2008, Global News reports. It would be the first strike since a 2011 law blocking strikes was struck down in court. That law had designed […]

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Woman struck, killed by CPKC steam tour train in Mexico (updated)

CPKC logo

NOPALA DE VILLAGRAN, Mexico — A 29-year-old woman was struck and killed today while trying to take a photo during the passage of CPKC’s Final Spike Steam Tour train in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, according to multiple media reports. The news site Debate reports that the woman was standing next to the tracks trying […]

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Metrolink introduces ‘smart crossing’ technology at Orange County grade crossing

Aerial view of commuter train at grade crossing

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. — Southern California commuter rail operator Metrolink has debuted new “smart crossing” technology at a San Juan Capistrano grade crossing, seeking to eliminate the activation of crossing gates when a train approaches a station and stops before reaching the crossing. The technology, known as a Wireless Crossing Nearside Station Stop, was made […]

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