Railpace Hot News
Keep up to date on the latest railroad news from the northeastern United States and Canada, edited by Carl Perelman.
December 7, 2023
Casey, Fetterman Announce $144 Million to Expand Amtrak Service Between Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia
U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) announced $143,629,028 from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to upgrade rail infrastructure along the Keystone West Corridor between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg to accommodate a second daily round-trip of the Amtrak Pennsylvanian service.
December 7, 2023
CN to Acquire Iowa Northern Railway
CN announced that it has signed and closed an agreement to acquire Iowa Northern Railway (IANR), which operates approximately 275 track miles in Iowa connecting to CN’s U.S. rail network. The transaction closed into an independent voting trust pending regulatory review of the transaction by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB).
December 6, 2023
Genesee & Wyoming’s Rail Link, Inc. Switching Subsidiary Wins Five New Contracts
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) announced that its railcar switching subsidiary, Rail Link, Inc., has secured five new contracts across the U.S. since September.
December 5, 2023
Washington Metro Begins Repressing Wheels on 7000-series Fleet
Metro announced that it has begun replacing the wheels on all 7000-series railcars under new, higher standards that will allow Metro to resume regular maintenance intervals and gradually add more 7K railcars to service, with the first railcars going into passenger service yesterday morning.
December 4, 2023
CSX Heritage Series Adds Locomotive Honoring the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
The CSX fleet of heritage locomotives is continuing to grow with the introduction of a unit painted in a custom design honoring the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
December 4, 2023
Biden Administration Announces More Than $300 Million Available to Make Transit Stations Accessible for All
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced the availability of $343 million in Fiscal Year 2024 federal funding to make it easier for people with disabilities and mobility needs to access some of the nation’s oldest and busiest rail transit systems through essential upgrades, such as elevators. Hundreds of transit stations built before 1990, known as legacy stations, are not accessible to people with disabilities.
December 1, 2023
Amtrak Cascades Adds Two More Daily Roundtrips Starting Dec. 11
Just in time for the holidays, WSDOT and ODOT are starting two additional Amtrak Cascades daily roundtrips between Seattle and Portland. Beginning Monday, Dec. 11, more trains will run in both directions – for a total of 12 Amtrak Cascades and two Coast Starlight trains every day between the two most popular cities on the route.
November 30, 2023
Railmen for Children to Operate Annual Santa Train:
Santa Claus is trading in his reindeer, and will be riding the rails this holiday season!! On Friday, December 1st, Santa will board a special NJ TRANSIT train for the annual Railmen For Children ride with Santa
November 30, 2023
MTA Announces $427 Million in Savings Identified in Proposed 2024 Budget
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) released its preliminary operating budget for 2024, the second of five years to have a projected balanced budget. This November Financial Plan outlines $427 million in operating efficiencies, exceeding the target of $400 million in savings as projected in the July Financial Plan. The MTA is ahead of schedule toward identifying $500 million in savings annually beginning in 2025.
November 30, 2023
Amtrak Fiscal Year 2023: Ridership Exceeds Expectations as Demand for Passenger Rail Soars
Amtrak continued its strong growth in Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) as the company resumed service on all routes and advanced major infrastructure projects that will support plans to double ridership by 2040. In FY23, more than 28 million customers rode Amtrak nationwide, fueled in part by significant growth on the Northeast Corridor (NEC), where ridership is booming and consistently exceeding pre-pandemic levels since early summer.
