Railfanning.org News Wire – Page 356

Amtrak-Illinois DOT Feasibility Study Determines Most Direct Route Best for Service to Rockford, Northwestern Illinois and Dubuque, Iowa

May 16, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

CHICAGO – After a period of extensive public involvement, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has chosen the most direct route as the best choice of four options for restoring rail service to a section of the state which lost passenger rail service more than 25 years ago. Following three community meetings and a web-based public comment period, IDOT has asked Amtrak to work with the CN railroad, which owns the tracks, to restore state-supported service when funding becomes available. “It is clear from the series of public meetings we’ve held over the last few months and the extensive amount

Ridership Surges as Amtrak Celebrates National Transportation Week

May 15, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON – In recognition of National Transportation Week, Amtrak today announced that ridership across the country reached 14.3 million during the first seven months of the fiscal year, an increase of 5 percent over last year. The biggest growth was in Amtrak’s short-distance corridors outside the Northeast — routes of 500 miles or less — with more than 12.3 million passengers traveling. The Amtrak-owned Northeast Corridor (Washington, DC – New York – Boston) continues to be the railroad’s busiest route, with 5.7 million passengers traveling during the first seven months of the fiscal year (October 1, 2006 – March 31,

FRA Issues Grant to Nevada DOT to Complete Evaluation of Proposed Maglev Train

May 11, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is issuing a $962,240 grant to the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) to complete preliminary environmental and engineering studies for a 35-mile segment of a proposed magnetic levitation (maglev) passenger train corridor between Las Vegas and Primm, Nev. Among the factors to be examined include: regional and local planning goals; current and future demographics and land use, growth and development patterns; as well as existing and planned transportation facilities and services. — Special to Railfanning.org News Wire

CTA to Relocate Historic Stationhouse

May 10, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority will relocate the existing historic stationhouse at Fullerton from 9:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 10 until 5 a.m. on Friday, May 11. Rail service will not be affected; however, Fullerton Avenue will be closed to through traffic between Sheffield and Halsted. CTA’s #74 Fullerton bus will be temporarily rerouted eastbound via Sheffield, Webster, Lincoln, Sheffield and Fullerton then resume the regular route. The stationhouse will be temporarily stored nearby until the work to install it at its permanent location is completed. The historic stationhouse will be refurbished and opened as an auxiliary entrance/exit for

N.J. Seeking to Commit Another Billion Dollars to Build Trans-Hudson Passenger Tunnel

May 8, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey is seeking to increase its funding commitment for a new trans-Hudson passenger rail tunnel by a billion dollars over the next decade — raising the state’s total investment in the Access to the Regions Core (ARC) project to $1.5 billion. In a unanimous vote yesterday, the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority’s (NJTPA) Project Prioritization Committee approved a recommendation to their full Board supporting Governor Corzine’s plan to exchange traditional highway dollars to fund the transit project that will double commuter rail capacity. The NJTPA’s full Board of Trustees is set to consider the measure at

Train Carrying NASA Solid Booster Rockets Derails in Ala.

May 3, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

MYRTLEWOOD, Ala. — Six people were injured when a freight train carrying segments of solid rocket boosters for NASA derailed on Genesee & Wyoming Inc.’s Meridian & Bigbee Railroad (M&B). Five of the injured were accompanying the booster segments in a passenger car that derailed. Two of the five were airlifted to nearby hospitals with injuries that have been reported as not life-threatening. The sixth person injured was the locomotive engineer, who is an M&B employee. He sustained cuts and bruises and was treated and released yesterday. The derailment occurred as the eastbound train with two locomotives and 14 cars

Rehberg Honored With Golden Spike Award

May 2, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

WASHINGTON — The National Association of Railroad Passengers is honoring U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., with the George Falcon Golden Spike Award. The award honors individuals for their contributions to the advancement of passenger rail. Rehberg was honored for his sustained leadership in funding intercity passenger rail. He chairs the Congressional Rail Caucus and was instrumental in securing funding for Amtrak in the last appropriations bill, fighting off amendments that would have crippled the railroad, or eliminated long distance trains. “Even in his earliest days as a freshman member of Congress, Representative Rehberg spoke out clearly and forcefully against efforts

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern to Offer Fastest Service Between Southern California and Southeast

April 30, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway will significantly improve eastbound domestic transcontinental service from Los Angeles to the Southeast on May 21. The service improvement in this important high-volume lane will result from shifting traffic from the Memphis gateway to the new Shreveport, La., gateway. This new route, combining Union Pacific’s Sunset Route between Los Angeles and Texas with Norfolk Southern’s and Kansas City Southern’s joint venture line between Shreveport and Meridian, Miss., is nearly 150 miles shorter than the current route, making it the shortest, fastest and most reliable intermodal route between Los Angeles and

Customers On SEPTA’s Paoli Line and Amtrak’s Keystone Corridor To Enjoy a Smoother Rider After Trackwork

April 25, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

PHILADELPHIA – Customers on SEPTA’s Regional Rail R5 Paoli-Thorndale Line and Amtrak’s Keystone Service will soon enjoy a smoother ride as Amtrak embarks on a major trackwork project between Paoli and Philadelphia. Scheduled to begin May 7 and continue through mid-November, the trackwork will cause adjustments to the schedules of trains that travel through the area, but in the end will result in more reliable service. During the project, SEPTA passengers will get a sneak peak at what the trackwork means to their daily commute as trains will operate over tracks that have already been upgraded. The trackwork, which is

Construction Begins on a New Metropark Station

April 23, 2007 Railfanning.org News Wire

ISELIN, N.J. – N.J. Transit today broke ground today on a $47 million project to rebuild Metropark Station on the Northeast Corridor. Originally designed as a suburban stop for Amtrak Metroliner trains, Metropark became New Jersey’s first “park and ride” station when it opened on November 11, 1971. The station quickly became a model of a “regional interceptor,” a station located near a major highway, providing adequate parking and convenient train options for rail travelers. Today, Metropark is the busiest outlying (non-terminal) station in the N.J. Transit commuter rail network, accommodating four million passenger trips each year—14,200 N.J. Transit customers