Olympia & Sand Creek, Episode 17 | Mirrors and clouds

Feather canyons everywhere! David looks at clouds that way. If you really don’t know how to paint clouds at all, then you’ll want to follow David as he demonstrates his techniques for adding realistic skies to his On30 display backdrop. But that’s not the only illusion recalls! David also shows how easy it is look […]

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Chicago may ask Union Station to house Greyhound passengers

CHICAGO — The city of Chicago wants Chicago Union Station to provide waiting-room space for Greyhound bus passengers after the expected closure of the city’s Greyhound station in mid-September, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. But Amtrak — Union Station’s owner — says it hasn’t been contacted about any such plan and has reservations about the area’s […]

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VIA Rail Canada’s public meeting discusses challenges, offers explanations: Analysis

VIA corridor assenger train with heritage HEP cars

MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada recaps the company’s forward-looking initiatives and financial performance for calendar 2023 in a 30-minute audio recording of its annual public meeting released on Wednesday, Aug. 7. The session is moderated by Jamie Orchard, VIA’s senior advisor of corporate communication, and features board of directors chair Francoise Bertrand, CEO Mario Peloquin, […]

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Jim Vena marks progress in his first year as Union Pacific CEO

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena says the railroad has made progress on safety, service, and operations since he became chief executive a year ago — but he’s quick to add that there’s still plenty of room for improvement. The scorecard for Vena’s first year as CEO, which began on Aug. 14, 2023, […]

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California High-Speed Rail Authority selects new CEO

California High Speed Rail Authority logo

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Ian Choudri will be the new CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, the agency’s board of directors announced after a closed-session meeting today (Aug. 8, 2024). Choudri, currently senior vice president for consulting firm HNTB, has more than 30 years in transportation, including work on high speed rail projects in France […]

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Brightline on-board workers file to form union (updated)

Yellow and white streamlined locomotive at station

WASHINGTON — On-board workers with Florida’s Brightline have filed to form a union, the Transport Workers Union of America has announced. The workers made the filing today (Thursday, Aug. 8) with the National Mediation Board, the government agency that handles labor relations with railroads and the airline industry under the Railway Labor Act. Workers involved […]

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Air Canada involvement in High Frequency Rail project generates concern

White airplane with blue tail with terminal building in background.

OTTAWA, Ontario — Air Canada has joined one of the consortia bidding for Canada’s High Frequency Rail project, raising concerns about conflict of interest and transparency in the bidding process. The Canadian airline and SNCF Voyageurs, the operating arm of the French national railways, were both late additions to the Cadence consortium, Global News reports, […]

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Lehigh Valley NRHS to host Alco Seminar

Alco locomotives on bridge

NORTHAMPTON, Pa. — The Lehigh Valley Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society/Railroad Historians of the Lehigh Valley are hosting an “Alco Seminar” on Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Northampton Event Center. The event will feature speakers who had a hand in the design and operation of Alcos, officials from railroads with Alco power, and […]

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BNSF completes Belen, N.M., area capacity and fueling project

FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway has completed its multiyear project to add track and fueling capacity on the approach to its yard in Belen, N.M., where trains stop to change crews, undergo inspection, and have their locomotives’ fuel tanks topped off. “Belen, New Mexico, is really the heartbeat of our Southern Transcon, accounting for […]

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Norfolk Southern names three top transportation officials

ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern Chief Operating Officer John Orr has named three veteran officials to lead the railroad’s transportation team. Tim Livingston, who worked with Orr at Kansas City Southern and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, joins NS as senior vice president of transportation and network operations. Reporting to Livingston will be Rodney Moore, vice president […]

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Amtrak on-time performance woes mirror host railroad freight service, shippers say

Three trains — one freight, two passengers — meet on triple-track main line.

Rail shipper groups say the poor on-time performance of all 15 Amtrak long-distance trains — which prompted the Justice Department to file a lawsuit last week against Norfolk Southern for its handling of the Crescent — is merely a reflection of Class I railroad freight operations. “This is a symptom of freight rail network capacity […]

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