Railpace Hot News
Keep up to date on the latest railroad news from the northeastern United States and Canada, edited by Carl Perelman.
June 22, 2022
Amtrak Increases Daily Service to Roanoke
Amtrak Northeast Regional service will soon offer a second daily departure from Roanoke, Va., giving customers more flexibility and convenience for travel to Washington, D.C., and to cities in the Northeast and Southwest Virginia. Service on the additional frequency of service to and from the city in the Blue Ridge Mountains begins on July 11.
June 22, 2022
Amtrak Increases Daily Service to Norfolk
Amtrak Northeast Regional service will soon offer a third daily departure from Norfolk, Va., giving customers more flexibility and convenience for travel within Virginia, to Washington, D.C., and to cities in the Northeast and a five total daily Amtrak services to the Hampton Roads region Service on the additional frequency to and from the waterfront city begins on July 11
June 21, 2022
Washington Metro Announces Travel Alternatives for Major Blue and Yellow Line Construction this Fall
Metro announced travel alternatives to help customers prepare for major Blue and Yellow line construction this fall. Starting Saturday, Sept. 10, Metro will begin work to connect the future Potomac Yard Station with the mainline rail system and to rehabilitate the Yellow Line tunnel and bridge between Pentagon and L’Enfant Plaza stations. The projects will impact Blue and Yellow line service in two phases over eight months, and free shuttle bus service will be available for customers throughout the duration.
June 20, 2022
CN Maintains Normal Rail Operations Across Canada as IBEW Strikes
CN announced today that normal rail operations continue safely as it has implemented its operational contingency plan. The plan allows the Company to maintain a normal level of safe rail operations across Canada and serve its customers for as long as required.
June 20, 2022
MBTA Subway Service Changes Take Effect Monday, June 20
The MBTA announced weekday subway service changes to take effect on the Red, Orange, and Blue Lines on Monday, June 20, and continuing through the summer. These changes are the result of staffing challenges among the ranks of subway dispatchers in the MBTA’s Operations Control Center. With a limited number of dispatchers, these new timetables allow the MBTA to schedule dispatchers in compliance with Federal Transit Administration directives, and continue delivering service in a safe and reliable manner
June 17, 2022
Vermont Agency of Transportation Announces Start Date for Long-Awaited Amtrak Service in Burlington, Vergennes, and Middlebury
The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) announced that the Amtrak Ethan Allen Express train will begin the highly-anticipated expanded passenger rail service to Burlington, Vergennes, and Middlebury on July 29, 2022. This service culminates the Agency’s extensive planning and infrastructure work to upgrade the tracks between Rutland and Burlington to accommodate higher speed passenger rail.
June 16, 2022
MTA Commuter Railroads Set Pandemic-Era Ridership Records on Tuesday, June 14
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that both the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad set pandemic-era ridership records on Tuesday, June 14. The LIRR carried 191,197 riders, or 66% of pre-pandemic ridership, surpassing the previous pandemic-era record of 187,800 set on June 10. Metro-North carried 174,340 riders on Tuesday, 67% of pre-pandemic ridership, surpassing its previous record of 163,900 set on May 24.
June 15, 2022
Federal Transit Administration Issues Directives to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities to Correct Safety Issues
To improve safety for the Greater Boston Area’s rail transit system, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) today issued a series of special directives to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU), the state agency responsible for safety oversight of the MBTA’s rail transit operations
June 15, 2022
Rail Traffic for the Week Ending June 11, 2022
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending June 11, 2022. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 510,295 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.6 percent compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending June 11 were 234,942 carloads, down 2.8 percent compared with the same week in 2021, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 275,353 containers and trailers, down 4.4 percent compared to 2021.
June 14, 2022
Amtrak Increases Acela Speeds Through New Jersey
Amtrak passengers can now travel even faster on Acela as recent infrastructure improvements along a 16-mile segment of track between New Brunswick and South Brunswick can accommodate speeds of up to 150 mph. This project is part of the New Jersey High-Speed Rail Improvement program and a $450 million investment by U.S. DOT, and the first of many speed upgrades anticipated in the NEC that lays the framework for future trip time reduction and improves the reliability of intercity and commuter services on one of the most heavily used sections of the NEC.
