Railpace Hot News
Keep up to date on the latest railroad news from the northeastern United States and Canada, edited by Carl Perelman.
April 23, 2021
Milwaukee-Chicago Amtrak Hiawatha Service Complete Schedule Returns On May 23
Beginning May 23, Amtrak and our partner state transportation departments are restoring all Hiawatha Service round-trips between Milwaukee and Chicago. The regular weekday schedule of seven round-trips is now available for booking, with an additional Chicago departure on Friday nights; the Saturday schedule of seven departures from Milwaukee and six from Chicago; and the Sunday schedule of six round-trips.
April 23, 2021
Amtrak Adds Carbon Emission Savings Information On All Northeast Corridor Tickets
Amtrak announced, in conjunction with Earth Day 2021 that all passengers traveling on the Northeast Corridor (NEC), between Boston and Washington, D.C., will be provided their trip-specific carbon emissions savings. Savings are calculated two ways: first by showing riders how much they saved by not driving and second, how much they saved by not flying. That difference between train travel and each of these alternative modes is the passenger’s carbon emissions savings (Co2e) with taking Amtrak. On the NEC, travel with Amtrak produces 83% less emissions than driving alone and up to 73% less than flying.
April 22, 2021
Siemens Is The Preferred Bid For New Amtrak Intercity Trainsets
After a competitive procurement launched in January of 2019, Amtrak has identified California-based Siemens Mobility Inc. (Siemens) as the preferred bidder to manufacture a new fleet of 83 Intercity Trainsets (ICTs), which will provide dual power in many instances and modern rail amenities to better serve all Amtrak customers.
April 22, 2021
Metra Battery Power Plans
Demonstrating its leadership and commitment to innovation and cleaner energy, Metra is challenging the industry to create a zero-emission commuter locomotive by converting an older engine from diesel to one powered solely by batteries.
April 21, 2021
Rail Traffic for the Week Ending April 17, 2021
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending April 17, 2021. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 533,217 carloads and intermodal units, up 32.2 percent compared with the same week last year.
April 21, 2021
CSX Corp. Announces First Quarter 2021 Financial Results
CSX Corp. today announced first quarter 2021 net earnings of $706 million, or $0.93 per share, compared to $770 million, or $1.00 per share in the same period last year.
April 20, 2021
CN Makes Superior Proposal to Combine With Kansas City Southern
CN today announced that it has made a superior proposal to combine with Kansas City Southern (“KCS”) in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $33.7 billion, or $325 per share1 .
April 19, 2021
N&W 611 Returns To The Strasburg Railroad
The response to 611’s visit in 2019 was so overwhelming that we wanted you to be the first to know that N&W No. 611 J is returning for a visit to the historic Strasburg Rail Road – America’s oldest continuously operating railroad – in Strasburg, Pennsylvania this summer and fall!
April 19, 2021
LIRR to Test Electric Railcars on Oyster Bay Branch
MTA Long Island Rail Road President Phillip Eng today announced that the LIRR has entered into an agreement with Alstom to test batteries that could enable electric railcars to travel on the railroad’s diesel branches. Upon successful completion of an eight-month initial analysis, technicians will retrofit a two car-long electric train to operate on battery power without passengers on the Oyster Bay Branch. While on electric portions of the route, the train would run on third rail power and charge the batteries, then switch to battery power for the unelectrified segment between East Williston and Oyster Bay.
April 16, 2021
NJ Transit Launches Rewards Program
NJ TRANSIT has officially launched its new customer rewards pilot program, NJT REWARDS, which gives NJ TRANSIT customers the chance to save at participating shops, cultural attractions, restaurants, and other businesses. The free rewards program opened for early notification last month, and as of today, NJ TRANSIT customers can start earning points for great deals!
