CHICAGO — Two people were killed after a tractor trailer slammed into a bus shelter at the Cermak-Chinatown CTA station, authorities said.
Trains on CTA’s Red Line were interrupted because of the accident.
“Right now this is just a tragic traffic accident,” The Associated Press quoted Chicago Police Department Deputy Chief Joseph Patterson as saying. Two women […]

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issued a guidance document to help minimize accidents due to gaps between the edge of a passenger station platform and the threshold of a passenger train door.
FRA Approach to Managing Gap Safety addresses the use of engineering evaluation and analysis to establish gap standards and the application […]

NEWARK, N.J. — Trains along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor came to a standstill because of electrical problems, authorities said.
“It was done as a precautionary measure. None of the trains lost power,” The Associated Press quoted Amtrak Spokesman Cliff Cole as saying.
The voltage in the overhead wires dropped from 12,000 volts to 9,000 volts, though an exact […]

CANTON, Mass. — About 150 people were injured when a lumber car crashed into a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter train Tuesday afternoon, March 25, authorities said.
“All the lights went out and people were flying down the aisles and people were on the floor of the car,” one passenger told The Boston Herald newspaper. “The […]

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of the collision involving a Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority train with a maintenance truck in Woburn, Mass., was the failure of the train dispatcher to maintain blocking that provided signal protection for the track segment occupied by the maintenance-of-way work crew, and the failure […]

WILMERDING, Pa. — Wabtec Corp. said it has received orders worth about $100 million to supply components for New York City subway cars being purchased under the city’s R-160 program. The contracts represent components for the first option order of 620 cars, which are to be delivered over the next two years.
Under the R-160 program, […]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California High-Speed Rail Authority Board has authorized a study to determine the feasibility of achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions for the power needs of the 700-mile electric high-speed train system.
The study, timed to be completed by June of this year, will focus on costs, potential location of facilities and partnerships with […]

CHICAGO –  Combined bus and rail ridership increased by 4.7 million rides in 2007, a gain of 1 percent over 2006 ridership, for a total of 499.5 million rides.
It is the highest ridership level since 1992. CTA has gained 60 million annual rides since the lowest year of 1997.
Weekend ridership showed the strongest rate of […]

WASHINGTON — An Amtrak locomotive collided with a MARC commuter train Feb. 7 at Union Station, leaving seven people injured.
The rear wheels of the MARC train derailed after the Amtrak locomotive crashed into it from behind. Seven people received minor injuries, officials said. Passenger were disembarking the MARC train, which arrived at Union Station from […]

WASHINGTON — President Bush has recommended a $1.62 billion funding package for Fiscal Year 2009 that includes new projects in nine cities across the nation. This New Starts amount is part of a total public transportation budget proposal of $10.1 billion, a 6.8 percent increase over Fiscal Year 2008.
“Well planned, cost-effective transit is crucial to […]