A statement Monday by the LOSSAN Rail Corridor agency commended California Gov. Jerry Brown for signing State Senate Bill 1225, authorizing the transfer of management for the state-supported intercity passenger rail service linking San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Luis Obispo from the state to a local Joint Powers Authority (JPA).
Amtrak said Friday it has begun operating trains to serve as training for locomotive engineers and conductors to learn the tracks and territory between Petersburg and Norfolk, Va., in preparation for its startup of service to and from Norfolk, Va., Dec. 12.
A signalization modernization project that falls under the CREATE (Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency) program and funded through TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economy Recovery) grants has been completed.
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) on Thursday said that, on behalf of the departments of transportation from Illinois, Michigan, and Missouri, it has issued a Notice of Intent to Award to Sumitomo Corp. of America to design, build, and deliver 130 bilevel passenger railcars for use in regional intercity rail corridors in California and the Midwest.
In service since late 2000, Amtrak’s Acela Express high speed trainsets have operated at a maximum speed of 135 mph on the New York-Washington segment of the Northeast Corridor, and at 150 mph on two short segments in Rhode Island and Massachusetts on the New York-Boston route.
The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA) said Wednesday the extension of Amtrak Downeaster service to Freeport and Brunswick, Maine, will begin Nov. 1. Tickets for the new service go on sale Oct. 1.
The Highspeed 2012 Congress, co-hosted by the American Public Transportation Association and the International Railway Union in Philadelphia from July 10 to 13, offered a smorgasbord of knowledge about high speed rail around the world. Now that I’ve had a chance to digest many of the ideas, information, and opinions that were presented during the Congress, two contrasting dimensions of America’s struggle to make HSR work stand out in my mind.
The freight railroads, intercity passenger and commuter railroads, and rail supply companies of the United States expect to hire more than 5,000 veterans in 2012.
Timing its latest revision of plans for the Northeast Corridor (NEC) to coincide with an international high speed rail conference this week in Philadelphia, Amtrak Monday released an updated vision of NEC HSR, estimating the cost at $151 billion.
Amtrak on Monday announced Jason D. Molfetas is the company’s new chief information officer (CIO), effective immediately. Molfetas will report directly to Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman.