Railpace Hot News
Keep up to date on the latest railroad news from the northeastern United States and Canada, edited by Carl Perelman.
April 15, 2021
CSX Closes Sale on First Phase of the $525-Million Rail Transaction with the Commonwealth of Virginia
CSX Corp.confirmed today the closing of the first phase of a comprehensive $525-million rail agreement with the Commonwealth of Virginia. This transaction is part of the Commonwealth’s previously announced multi-billion dollar rail transportation initiative to improve service and infrastructure in the state.
April 15, 2021
FRA Taking Steps to Advance Minority and Women Owned Business Participation in Federally Funded Rail Projects
Underscoring the Biden-Harris Administration’s focus on promoting diversity and inclusion, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is conducting a first of its kind nationwide small, minority-owned and woman-owned business disparity study, seeking to determine whether the playing field is level for firms aspiring to win subcontracts from grantees receiving Federal funds administered by the agency.
April 14, 2021
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg Announces Availability of $1 Billion to Modernize and Create New American Infrastructure
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to apply for $1 billion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 discretionary grant funding through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grants. RAISE, formerly known as BUILD and TIGER, has awarded over $8.935 billion in grants to projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico since 2009.
April 14, 2021
Rail Traffic for the Week Ending April 10, 2021
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending April 10, 2021. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 513,724 carloads and intermodal units, up 24.5 percent compared with the same week last year.
April 14, 2021
Amtrak Increases Downeaster Service
The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA) announced today that the Amtrak Downeaster will increase service and implement a new schedule on May 3, 2021. This will restore the Downeaster to its pre-COVD service level of five daily round trips between Brunswick and Boston. The Downeaster has been offering four daily round-trips since July 2020.
April 13, 2021
VIA Rail Canada Announces The Resumption of the Winnipeg to Toronto Portion of the Canadian
VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) announces that it will be providing additional essential intercity transportation options by resuming the Toronto to Winnipeg portion of the Canadian which will enable one full round-trip per week starting May 17, 2021.
April 12, 2021
PATH’s Harrison Station
PATH is closing the southwest entrance of Harrison Station beginning Monday, April 12, to allow for demolition of the existing station structure, paving the way for a new, modern headhouse that will be ADA-accessible and provide an enhanced customer experience.
April 9, 2021
Amtrak Vermont Service Will Resume This July
Vermont Agency of Transportation has announced that Amtrak passenger rail service in Vermont will resume effective July 19, 2021.
April 9, 2021
Daily Subway Ridership Tops Two Million for the First Time Since Beginning of COVID-19 Pandemic
MTA New York City Transit officials announced a significant milestone today — 2,009,025 trips were recorded on the subway on April 8, the first time that more than two million trips were taken on the subway since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City
April 8, 2021
WMATA Board finance and capital committee approves budget that maintains service improvements to support regional recovery
The Metro Board of Directors Finance and Capital Committee today approved a $4.7 billion operating and capital budget for fiscal year 2022 (beginning July 1, 2021) that maintains current service levels and enhancements, while continuing to accelerate Metro’s capital investment in safety-critical repairs and service reliability improvements. The full Board of Directors is expected to approve the Committee’s recommendation on April 22.
