Author: Bruce E. Kelly

Multiple Factors Impacting Amtrak Long-Distance Trains

The debut in late August 2025 of Amtrak’s long-awaited NextGen Acela trainsets for the Northeast Corridor captured media and rail industry attention at a time when Amtrak’s much larger—geographically speaking—Long-Distance (LD) network

BNSF Hauser Refueling Facility Turns 20

While new bridges and additional segments of second main track have been at the forefront of BNSF’s recent developments in the Pacific Northwest, the company has logged an additional milestone in terms

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Commentary

Crew Size is About More Than Safety

In his commentary posted on May 1 and published in the May issue, Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono said what few others have been willing to say regarding the subject of how many

POVA Dedicates Locomotive to Former CMO

Short line Pend Oreille Valley Railroad (POVA), headquartered in Usk, Wash., dedicated newly painted GP9 102 on Jan. 26 to its former Chief Mechanical Officer, Brad Byrd, who passed away in 2023. Kelly Driver,

  • M/W

BNSF Completes Sandpoint Jct. Connector (Updated)

A four-year, multi-faceted project to widen a single-track chokepoint on BNSF’s Northern Corridor at Sandpoint, Idaho, is now complete, following the cutover of new track during a 16-hour work window on Aug.

Commentary

Water By Rail a No-Go for Now

Forty years ago, in September 1983, Southern Pacific launched a new service to haul crude oil from well sites in central California to a refinery south of Los Angeles. Some called it

Amtrak’s recent winter meltdown was not the first time the passenger railroad faced widespread delays during the holiday travel season. On Dec. 31, 2021, Train No. 8 was some nine hours late when it passed Hauser Jct., Idaho, where the temperature was only 10 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s mild compared with the sub-zero weather the Empire Builder routinely faces on the northern plains. (Photo and Caption by Bruce Kelly)
Commentary

What’s Triggering Empire Builder Service Setbacks?

Severe winter conditions were blamed for Amtrak suspending a number of its long-distance and regional trains across the nation’s Northern Tier and Midwest during the Christmas holiday week. Then came West Coast cancellations in the wake of heavy rains and flooding during the first week of January.