New York MTA opens facility to inspect, test subway equipment

Interior of servicing facility for subway equipment

NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has opened a new Railcar Acceptance and Testing Facility, where the MTA will inspect and test new subway cars and other equipment before it is placed into service. The facility — the first new subway-car facility opened by the MTA since 1948 — is near the South Brooklyn Marine […]

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Metro-North’s temporary Penn Access service would require Long Island Rail Road cuts, Amtrak says

Electric passenger locomotive passes construction workers and machinery

NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority would have to reduce Long Island Rail Road service into New York’s Penn Station to accommodate its proposal for temporary Metro-North service on its Penn Access route through the Bronx, according to Amtrak — which MTA CEO Janno Lieber says is not an option. In a paywalled article, […]

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Detailed schedule released for CSX Santa Train

Route map for CSX Santa Train

KINGSPORT, Tenn. — A detailed schedule has now been released for the 83rd CSX Santa Train, the Appalachian holiday tradition launched by the predecessor Clinchfield Railroad that makes its annual run from Shelbiana, Ky., to Kingsport, Tenn., on Saturday (Nov. 22, 2025). CSX employees, along with volunteers from partner organizations such as Appalachian Power, Food […]

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CSX seeks STB order blocking state requirements at Curtis Bay coal terminal

WASHINGTON — CSX Transportation is asking the Surface Transportation Board to block parts of the state of Maryland’s new operating permit for the railroad’s Curtis Bay coal terminal in Baltimore, saying they constitute an impermissible attempt for the state to regulate rail transportation. The railroad, in a Nov. 19 filing, is asking the board for […]

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BLET announces tentative agreement with SEPTA

Logo of Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union

PHILADELPHIA — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has reached a tentative one-year deal with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, a rare bit of good news for the problem-plagued transit agency. The union announced that the deal, covering engineers who operate Regional Rail trains, would include a 5% pay increase effective July 5, 2026. […]

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Rebrand just part of Gold Runner’s path forward

Train and bus with multicolored striping parked at right angles

  STOCKTON, Calif. — The transportation menu of trains and buses running between the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California via the state’s Central Valley didn’t change following a Nov. 14 ribbon-cutting ceremony for what is now known as Gold Runner service. But that event at the Altamont Corridor Express maintenance facility in Stockton, […]

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‘There’s nothing freaking moving’: Vena uses Chicago bottleneck to sell UP–NS merger

CHICAGO — If Union Pacific wanted to show the media how trains can sit around in the nation’s rail capital, it was mission accomplished last week aboard its executive train. As the six-car train headed west at 10 mph on Wednesday — rolling between the Belt Railway of Chicago’s Clearing Yard to the north and […]

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Amtrak marks record 2025 results, highlights accomplishments of fiscal year

WASHINGTON — Amtrak is celebrating a second consecutive year of record ridership and revenue in its review of fiscal 2025 released today (Nov. 18, 2025), after a year including 34.5 million passenger trips, a 5.1% increase over the previous year. “Amtrak’s operational success is not just about moving more people — it’s about moving them […]

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Chicago Transit Authority announces schedules for Holiday Train, Bus

Decorated rapid-transit train with trailing flatcar featuring Santa Claus

CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority has announced the schedule for its 2025 CTA Holiday Fleet, a specially decorated L train and bus that roam the system beginning in late November. The Holiday Bus begins operation on Tuesday, Nov. 25; train operations begin Friday, Nov. 28. Both are sponsored by Allstate. This is the 34th […]

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Driver killed in Elgin, Ill., grade crossing accident had little advance warning: NTSB

View of grade crossing on curve

WASHINGTON — A Union Pacific locomotive’s horn and warning devices at a grade crossing provided little advance notice before a fatal collision at a grade crossing in Elgin, Ill., according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on the Oct. 23, 2025, incident. The accident occurred about 6:30 a.m., when a locomotive running light […]

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Montreal opens second section of REM light rail system

Group of people participating in ribbon cutting

MONTREAL — The second portion of Montreal’s Réseau express métropolitain light rail network has opened, with regular service on the Deux-Montagnes line beginning at 5:30 a.m. ET today (Nov. 17, 2025). That follows a Friday ceremony that included Prime Minister Mark Carney and a weekend of free “open house” operations on the new 33-kilometer (20.5-mile), […]

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SEPTA Regional Rail cancellations continue, but at reduced rate

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority logo

PHILADELPHIA — Advance cancellation of Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority Regional Rail trains has continued into this week, although the scope of those cancellations has been reduced. SEPTA announced Sunday that a dozen trains would be canceled today (Monday, Nov. 17) on its Chestnut Hill West and Fox Chase lines — three during the morning commute […]

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