California high speed project issues request for proposals for track construction

Aerial view of bridge over dirt pathway of railroad right-of-way

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California High Speed Rail Authority this week issued a Request For Proposals for the contract to build track and related systems for the 119-mile first segment of the project, between Merced and Bakersfield. The $3.5 billion contract will be one of the nation’s largest for rail infrastructure. Proposals from interested companies […]

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MBTA, Keolis complete rail replacement on Fairmount Line

Map of MBTA commuter rail Fairmount Line

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has completed more than 28 miles of rail replacement on its Fairmount Line, part of work in preparation for the eventual launch of battery-electric train service on the 9.2-mile, nine-station commuter line between South Station and Readville, Mass. Service on the route, which has been modified since the […]

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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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Chicago, railroads celebrate completion of Forest Hill Flyover

CSX Intermodal train led by single locomotive passes over Union Pacific and Metra locomotives on bridge

CHICAGO — Some projects of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency, or CREATE, program are begun and completed with relatively limited fanfare. That is certainly not the case with the Forest Hill Flyover, which carries the tracks of CSX Transportation over lines used by Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, the Belt Railway of Chicago, and […]

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Cutover of Portal North Bridge could require six weeks of rail disruptions

View of bridge under construction with tugboat in foreground

KEARNY, N.J. — The cutover of traffic to the new Portal North Bridge on the Northeast Corridor in early 2026 could disrupt Amtrak and NJ Transit traffic for up to six weeks, according to NorthJersey.com. Some trains could be canceled or rerouted during that period. NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri said plans are being finalized […]

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Mexico begins work on passenger line to Nuevo Laredo

Map showing planned passenger rail projects in Mexico

MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday (Nov. 7) announced the start of the country’s latest major rail project, the Gulf of Mexico Train, a planned passenger route linking Nuevo Laredo at the U.S. border to the cities of Saltillo and Monterrey. Groundbreaking was held Friday in Nuevo Laredo for the first phase […]

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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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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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Rail-making Steelton, Pa., plant to be closed permanently

Logo of steelmaker Clieveland-Cliffs

STEELTON, Pa. — The Cleveland-Cliffs Steelton plant, which had been one of just three U.S. locations producing railroad rails, will be closed permanently as of Jan. 13, 2026. The plant just southeast of Harrisburg, Pa., had been closed in June in a move the company described as temporary but indefinite [see “Rail-making Steelton, Pa., steel […]

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Construction work to alter Metra Electric, South Shore service on upcoming weekends

CHICAGO — Metra Electric will face modified operations on for three of the next four weekends, while South Shore Line operations in to Chicago will also face disruptions on two weekends to accommodate construction work related to South Shore’s coming expansion of service. Plans for the service outages include: — On the weekends of Oct. […]

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Trump suggests Gateway Tunnel project is ‘terminated’ (updated)

Large group of people with oversized check for $6.88 billion

WASHINGTON —New York’s Gateway Tunnel project may be halted, based on a brief comment in a lengthy news conference by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, Oct. 15. While not identifying by name the project to add two tracks under the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York’s Penn Station, Trump suggested it was the […]

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Durango & Silverton operations suspended by flooding

Water running over narrow-gauge rail line

DURANGO, Colo. — Operation of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has been suspended because of flooding caused by recent record rainfall, but is expected to resume “shortly,” the railroad said. “We appreciate the understanding of guests who have been affected by service interruptions,” the D&SNG said in a Facebook post, “and plan to […]

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