Amtrak

Canadian Pacific puts Amtrak expansion on hold in Wisconsin, Illinois

Leave it to the state of Illinois to mess up something Wisconsin wants to accomplish.

BLET and SEPTA agree on new contract

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) has ratified a new contract with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) that covers health care benefits, pay, and work rules for the next

Sound Transit

Falsework for Sound Transit bridge ready to be removed

Crews working on the Sound Transit project are getting ready to work on the rail portion of a light-rail bridge that crosses over I-405 in Bellevue, Wash. Lanes and ramps on I-405

NJ Transit withholds PTC costs from public view due to “trade secret”

Bloomberg is reporting that New Jersey Transit is withholding the cost of recent expenditures for its Positive Train Control (PTC) project from public view.

Metrolink announces three executive appointments

Yesterday, Metrolink Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Wiggins announced three chief-level appointments to the agency’s leadership team.

Amtrak matches Oregon DOT grant application

In support of an Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) grant application, Amtrak announced a matching $750,000 contribution to reduce delays in the Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor. ODOT’s grant application, if successful, will

Theresa Impastato named Metro’s new safety chief

Metro recently announced that Theresa M. Impastato, a 20-year veteran of rail safety and operations, is the transit agency’s new EVP/Chief Safety Officer. Impastato will begin August 12.

GAO PTC report – update

RT&S reported Thursday (Aug. 1) that the Government Accounting Office (GAO) released a statement saying that while the railroads are making good progress on the installation of Positive Train Control (PTC) on

GAO reports PTC focus turning to interoperability

The Government Accounting Office released a statement yesterday pointing out that much work remains to be done for the railroad industry to achieve interoperability among individual PTC systems. The statement says “Full

Schneider

With PTC on 90 percent of required routes, railroad industry gets high marks on progress

The rail industry is coming down the final stretch, even if that stretch is 8,000 route miles long.

FRA

Karl Alexy named FRA chief safety officer

Karl Alexy has been named the Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety and Chief Safety Officer of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).  He was most recently the FRA’s Deputy Associate Administrator for Railroad

Amtrak train hits truck at grade crossing, killing driver

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that an Amtrak train was involved in a grade crossing accident in University Park, a south suburban area of Chicago.  The accident occurred yesterday (Sunday) at around

FRA proposes recording equipment for passenger trains

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is proposing to require the installation of inward- and outward-facing locomotive image recording devices on all lead locomotives in passenger trains, and that these devices record while

Caltrans

Caltrans releases funds to improve transit, help low-income sectors

Continuing efforts to reduce the transportation sector’s impact on the environment, Caltrans has announced $146 million from the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program, or LCTOP, will go to 180 local mass transit

Charges against Amtrak engineer Brandon Bostian dropped again

In May 2015, over four years ago, Amtrak locomotive engineer Brandon Bostian, piloting Amtrak train number 188, a Northeast Regional train, lost “situational awareness,” according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB),

BART names new general manager

The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Board of Directors unanimously appointed Robert Powers to take over as BART’s 10th General Manager. Powers, a professional engineer with more than 20 years

Amtrak to offer Acela Nonstop

Amtrak announced today it will offer a new service, Acela Nonstop, direct service between Washington, D.C. Union Station and New York Penn Station.  The service will begin on Monday, September 23, and

Regional Transportation Authority

Metra, Amtrak spar over rent at Chicago Union Station

In business, one often needs a scorecard to keep up with who pays who for what.  In the case of Metra’s use of Chicago Union Station, Amtrak owns the station and Metra

BART

BART moving in right direction with RR funds

So far Measure RR is delivering top grade results for BART transit in the San Francisco Bay area. That’s according to a new report by the Measure RR Bond Oversight Committee, which

NTSB: CSX, workers responsible for South Carolina wreck

What was once a bad week for CSX has now turned into a bad month.

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