Amtrak’s long-distance trains between New York and southern destinations more or less look like a compilation of the first dozen or so cars the railroad could find. But, the consists are usually the same from trip to trip. Between New York and Washington, the train is pulled by an AEM-7 or an HHP-8, both electric […]

The Northeast Corridor is an “asset of national importance” and requires significant upgrades in order ensure it remains in good working order, the head of Amtrak recently told a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

Amtrak is planning to start field testing its new long-distance passenger rail cars this winter. Once in service on long-distance routes such as the New York-to-New Orleans Crescent and the New-York-to-Miami Silver Service routes, the cars will replace Amtrak’s heritage fleet of equipment. Some of the railroad’s heritage fleet dates to the 1940s. The new […]

PHILADELPHIA — Amtrak’s next generation of locomotives are undergoing “rigorous” testing before they enter regular service next fall. A pair of the Amtrak Cities Sprinter (ACS-64) electric locomotives are being put through the paces at the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) facility in Pueblo, Colo., while a third locomotive will run field tests on the Northeast […]

ORLANDO, Fla. – Work on Central Florida’s first commuter rail line is progressing, and the line is expected to open by next year. Work to convert the corridor for use by SunRail remains ongoing and the headway is quite apparent. For example, new platforms are nearing completion at the Amtrak stations in Orlando and Winter […]

Amtrak is riding a wave of record ridership to highlight its reducing dependence on federal subsidies to support operations. Last week, the passenger railroad paused to highlight that ticket sales and other revenue support 88 percent of its operational costs. Federal tax revenues supported “just 12 percent of Amtrak’s operating costs,” the railroad noted. For […]

As Amtrak looks to upgrade its operations in the Northeast Corridor, the railroad made it clear public money will be needed to jump start the project. In testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure earlier this month, Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman said revenues of $1 billion or more annually from […]

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KENNESAW, Ga. — Dozens of trains roar through town every day. They speed past the historic 1908 train depot in the heart of town A few feet away from the tracks, idly sits a 155-year-old steam locomotive that pulled into town a rainy Saturday morning nearly 150 years ago. It was the one-year anniversary of […]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — More than a dozen times on weekends throughout the year, a long string of vintage passenger coaches whisk passengers away from the bustle of Music City and into the rural Middle Tennessee landscape. The coaches, all of which served for decades on various railroads throughout the country before their retirement from daily […]