CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority will add 24-hour service on a third rail line and look to increase frequencies across its rail system, the CTA’s acting president said this week in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times. Acting President Nora Leerhsen told the newspaper the agency is looking to turn the Orange Line — […]
SAN CARLOS, Calif. — Caltrain has become the latest commuter operator to outline dire operational impacts without new funding — in this case, a regional funding measure to be on the ballot a year from now, in November 2026. As outlined at the November meeting of the Caltrain board, potential impacts without funding from the […]
WASHINGTON — Taking the train as an alternative to a cancelled flight is only rarely mentioned in news reports on the flight reductions ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration starting today (Nov. 7, 2025). The lack of Amtrak awareness is not surprising, given the spindly nature of its national network compared to air travel and […]
Amtrak this week launched work on a pair of eastern maintenance facilities, breaking ground on Wednesday (Nov. 5) for construction of a new facility at Washington’s Ivy City Yard and holding a similar event Thursday for Southampton Yard in South Boston. In both cases, the work is tied to preparations for the new Airo trainsets, […]
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board issued a pair of rail safety alerts on Wednesday (Nov. 5, 2025), one addressing the risks of shoving moves during switching and the other on unexpected movements of unsecured equipment. The alerts stem from issues raised in several NTSB investigations. Each area of concern has resulted in deaths […]
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Voters in Mecklenburg County, N.C., on Tuesday (Nov. 4) approved a 1% sales-tax increase to fund a transportation plan, including a commuter rail line. The Charlotte Observer reports that the referendum approved by a 52%-48% margin is expected to raise more than $19 billion over 30 years. The measure requires 40% of […]
KAMLOOPS, British Columbia — Approximately 80,700 liters of aviation fuel (about 21,320 gallons) was spilled as a result of the Nov. 1 derailment of a CPKC train along Kamloops Lake, British Columbia’s Ministry of Environment and Parks says in its latest update. An official told the local news site Castanet Kamloops that the leading theory […]
CHICAGO — Tickets go on sale Nov. 17 at noon for Metra’s annual Holiday Trains, to operate on five of its routes in December. The specially decorated trains featuring holiday characters will operate on the Metra Electric, BNSF, Milwaukee West, Rock Island, and Union Pacific Northwest lines. The Metra Electric trips will also feature a […]
LOS ANGELES — Tickets are now on sale — and some are already sold out — for Metrolink’s annual Holiday Express trains, set to operate during three December weekends at sites in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and Ventura counties. The trains feature round trips of approximately 75 minutes, featuring Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, […]
For the second consecutive year, Indiana Northeastern Railroad, Little River Railroad, and the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society will play host to the Cameron Christmas Train, a three-day tour of northeastern Indiana, southeastern Michigan, and western Ohio set for Nov. 20-22 to mark the holiday season and deliver gifts to families along the route. The […]
DENVER — Amtrak’s Winter Park Express ski train will return for the 2025-26 season on Dec. 19, albeit with slightly fewer days than were offered when operations were expanded a year ago. The train will operate total of 57 days this season, and will run four days a week — Thursdays through Sundays — beginning […]
Railroads with cumbersome names that can be a mouthful to say and a headache to remember often opted for nicknames. These aliases served to enhance brand identity and solidify their legacy. Commonly, railroads used city names in their nicknames, as seen with the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific, popularly known as the Milwaukee Road. […]
