BNSF nears completion of PTC on former Montana Rail Link

A blue Montana Rail Link train works alongside a river with mountains in the background.

MISSOULA, Mont. — BNSF Railway expects to complete installation of positive train control on the former Montana Rail Link by December, concluding a long-running project that predates BNSF’s acquisition of the regional railroad. BNSF said on social media that PTC was implemented on 36 miles of its MRL Subdivision in June, with work in progress […]

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Amtrak service to Newport News, Va., remains suspended after CSX derailment (updated)

Overturned coal hopper next to bridge

RICHMOND, Va. — Amtrak service between Richmond and Newport News, Va., will now remain suspended until Monday, Nov. 3, as the result of last weekend’s CSX derailment, the passenger operator has announced in an update on Thursday, Oct. 30. Amtrak had previously announced that service would be suspended until Nov. 1. The 70-mile Richmond-Newport News […]

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Amtrak’s Chicago train wash open for business; other locations to follow

Train moving through small building across tracks

CHICAGO— The questions “what took so long?” and “when will the others be operational?” weren’t entirely answered Thursday, Oct. 23, when Trains was among those invited to observe, along with Amtrak president Roger Harris, the workings of the long-overdue train wash located near the south end of the company’s 16th Street coach yard. “Each one […]

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MTA says Penn Access project will take an additional three years to complete (updated)

Illustraiton showing planned station for MTA Penn Access project

NEW YORK — Completion of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Penn Access project, which will bring Metro-North trains to Penn Station and add four new stations in the Bronx, will likely be pushed back by three years to 2030 because of Amtrak’s failure to meet its obligations to the project, MTA executives said at a meeting […]

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Amtrak touts progress on Connecticut River Bridge Replacement Project

Illustration of double-track bridge with lift span in middle

WASHINGTON — Amtrak has posted a video update showing progress made to date on its $1.3 billion Connecticut River Bridge Replacement Project on the Northeast Corridor. The new span is being built next to the existing 1907 bridge that links Old Saybrook and Old Lyme, Conn. Construction began late last year, with completion eyed by […]

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Metrolink installs ‘smart crossing’ system at first LA County locations

New logo for Metrolink, introduced 2022

LOS ANGELES — Metrolink has rolled out the use of smart crossing technology — which avoids unnecessary delays at grade crossings near stations — with its introduction at two crossings near its Baldwin Park station. The Wireless Crossing Nearside Station Stop technology communicates with positive train control to prevent crossing gates from lowering as a […]

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NTSB investigating fatal grade-crossing accident in Elgin, Ill.

National Transportation Safety Board logo

ELGIN, Ill. — The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a fatal collision on Thursday in Elgin involving a Union Pacific locomotive and a landscaping company pickup truck, the agency announced on social media. One person was killed and two were injured in the collision at the State Street grade crossing in Elgin, the Daily […]

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News photos: Breakthrough moment for Silver Line

Yellow and white diesel multiple-unit trainset breaks through banner in ceremony

ADDISON, Texas — In ceremonies today (Friday, Oct. 24), Dallas Area Rapid Transit marked the completion of its commuter rail Silver Line, with one of the route’s Stadler FLIRT trainsets breaking through a banner at the Addison station at the conclusion of a ride for invited guests from the Cypress Waters station in Dallas. The […]

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Front Range Passenger Rail District names Pace as general manager

Logo of the Front Range Passenger Rail District

DENVER — Salvatore (Sal) Pace has been named as the new general manager of the Front Range Passenger Rail District, the agency charged with developing a rail passenger operation between Fort Collins and Trinidad, Colo. Pace is a former minority leader of the Colorado House of Representatives and Pueblo County Commissioner. The district says he […]

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Investigation finds dozens of Long Island Rail Road employees involved in timecard abuse (updated)

EMU train arrives at station

NEW YORK — Results of a nearly three-year investigation by Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Office of  Inspector General allege that 36 employees, including seven supervisors, at three Long Island Rail Road facilities engaged in acts of misconduct related to timecard abuse, MTA Inspector General Daniel G. Cort said on Thursday (Oct. 23, 2025). “These employees, including […]

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State funding to benefit three MBTA rail projects

Mockup of green and white light rail vehicle inside of tent

BOSTON — Improvements to the rapid transit Green Line, a new commuter rail layover facility, and new locomotives are among the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority projects that will benefit from $850 million in state funding under an Interdepartmental Service Agreement approved by both the MBTA board and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation board of directors. […]

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News photos: First Airo trainset visits Chicago on cross-country trek

CHICAGO — Its trials completed at the Federal Railroad Administration’s Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colo., Amtrak’s first Siemens Airo trainset is now headed east to the company’s Philadelphia coach yard, where it will be based for Northeast Corridor testing and commissioning. That trip included a stop in Chicago today (Oct. 22, 2025). The train […]

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