Railpace Hot News
Keep up to date on the latest railroad news from the northeastern United States and Canada, edited by Carl Perelman.
December 16, 2022
Amtrak Announces Airo Train Sets
Built for the future, visuals of Amtrak’s newest trains reveal a modern customer experience. The new trains, Amtrak AiroTM, will start debuting in 2026 and operate on routes throughout the country. Routes include the Amtrak Northeast Regional, Empire Service, Virginia Services, Keystone Service, Downeaster, Cascades, Maple Leaf, New Haven/Springfield Service, Palmetto, Carolinian, Pennsylvanian, Vermonter, Ethan Allen Express and Adirondack.
December 15, 2022
Gloucester Drawbridge on Newburyport/Rockport Commuter Rail Line Has Been Successfully Completed
The MBTA announced that construction is complete on the new Gloucester Drawbridge that carries the Rockport Commuter Rail Line over the Annisquam River. The $100 million bridge replacement began in 2018 and replaces a bridge originally constructed in 1911.
December 15, 2022
Rail Traffic for the Week Ending December 10, 2022
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending December 10, 2022. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 500,310 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.5 percent compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending December 10 were 242,007 carloads, up 1.3 percent compared with the same week in 2021, while U//.S. weekly intermodal volume was 258,303 containers and trailers, down 5.8 percent compared to 2021.
December 14, 2022
NJ Transit Awarded FTA Grant to Study Transit Oriented Development Along Proposed HBLR Extension
NJ TRANSIT has been awarded a $592,000 grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to study equitable transit oriented development (TOD) along the proposed nine-mile extension of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) into Bergen County.
December 13, 2022
MBTA Celebrates Opening of the Green Line Extension Medford Branch
Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Massachusetts Transportation Secretary and CEO Jamey Tesler, and MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak , on December 13, joined federal, state, and local officials to celebrate the opening of the Medford Branch of the Green Line Extension (GLX). Following a ceremony dedicating the new Green Line Vehicle Maintenance Facility to former Congressman Mike Capuano and a ribbon cutting at the new Tufts/Medford Station, the celebration was held at the Joyce Cummings Center at Tufts University.
December 12, 2022
Winchester and Western Railroad to Serve New West Virginia Steel Mill
Winchester and Western Railroad (W&W), an affiliate of OmniTRAX, has signed an agreement to serve Commercial Metals Company’s (CMC) latest steel mill in West Virginia. CMC, the largest manufacturer of steel reinforcing bar (rebar) in North America and Central Europe, selected Falling Waters, West Virginia after an exhaustive multi-state site review.
December 11, 2022
Long Island Rail Road Takes Over Operational Control of Grand Central Madison
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that operational control of Grand Central Madison – the new 700,000 square foot Long Island Rail Road terminal nearing completion underneath Grand Central Terminal – had been transferred to the LIRR from MTA Construction and Development, the MTA’s agency responsible for building the terminal.
December 11, 2022
Groundbreaking for Metro-North Penn Station Access Project
Governor Kathy Hochul, on December 9, announced the groundbreaking for the Metro-North Penn Station Access project alongside leaders from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority during a ceremony in the Bronx this morning. With four new stations in the Bronx, this project will bring rail service within one mile of 500,000 residents and will be the largest expansion of Metro-North Railroad since it was founded in 1983. B
December 9, 2022
Completion of $159 Million Contract for South Coast Rail Main Line Construction
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, Massachusetts Transportation Secretary and CEO Jamey Tesler, and MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak were joined this week by state and local elected leaders and community partners to celebrate the substantial completion of the $159 million contract for South Coast Rail Main Line construction. The celebration took place at a ribbon-cutting event at the brand-new Freetown Commuter Rail Station.
December 8, 2022
North Carolina Short Line Railroad Grants Awarded
Multiple short line railroads will be improving their rail infrastructure thanks to approximately $12 million in grant funds being awarded by the N.C. Department of Transportation.
