Railway Age Engineering Editor and Railway Track & Structures Editor-in-Chief Bill Wilson talks with AmeriStarRail’s Scott Spencer about the potential of the Grand Slam rail tunnel project.
Amtrak’s proposal to launch Baton Rouge-to-New Orleans service advanced April 20 with a rail line inspection trip taken by Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, Amtrak President and CEO Stephen Gardner, and other federal, state and railroad officials.
A Florida judge on April 18 struck down a federal mandate requiring mask use on public transportation and at transportation hubs. While railroads were deciding whether to keep the mandate in place until May 3 or make mask-wearing optional, the Department of Justice (DOJ) on April 20 filed an appeal. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is weighing in.
Jason Jewell has been appointed interim Managing Director of the Los Angeles–San Diego–San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) Rail Corridor Agency, which oversees the Amtrak® Pacific Surfliner® service.
Amtrak Charger No. 309—a new 4,200-hp ALC-42 built by Siemens Mobility in Sacramento, Calif., and powered with a Cummins QSK95 Tier 4-compliant prime-mover—is the first to don the railroad’s “Phase VII” livery.
Amtrak has submitted to Congress its Fiscal Year 2023 General and Legislative (G&L) Annual Report, in which it seeks $3.3 billion in total grant funding, including $1.1 billion for the Northeast Corridor (NEC) and $2.2 billion for the National Network (NN). This is consistent with the FY 2023 annual appropriations authorized under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), “America’s Railroad” reported.
New Jersey Transit has issued a “Notice to Proceed” to Skanska/Traylor Bros PNB Joint Venture (STJV) for construction of Portal North Bridge, which is slated to take approximately five and a half years to complete.
Amtrak will face four main challenges as it modernizes and expands service with a minimum of $22 billion in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding, according to the Amtrak Office of Inspector General (OIG).
Amtrak on March 31 provided a look inside its new Acela trainsets from Alstom that it said will now enter Northeast Corridor service in fall 2023—another delay.
Duos Technologies Group will provide Amtrak with two automated railcar inspection portals under an approximately $9 million contract, with installation expected to begin later this year.
