The Colorado Pacific Railroad says it will challenge an agreement struck between Union Pacific and Texas-based short-line operator Rio Grande Pacific that looks at starting up passenger and freight rail services on the Tennessee Pass Line.
The Colorado Pacific Railroad (CXR) said it would file a protest at the Surface Transportation Board, requesting that the lease agreement should not be approved because it would allow Union Pacific to maintain its “monopoly stranglehold” across the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. CXR said this was in defiance about the Board’s concerns about the Tennessee Pass line voiced in the 1996 UP-SP merger case – the merger allowed UP to use the Moffat Tunnel, the only existing trans-mountain alternative in Colorado, instead, and abandon the Tennessee Pass line. CXR also said it thought that case should be reopened “to enable Colorado’s competitive access to the national railroad network”.
The parent company of Rio Grande Pacific, Colorado Pacific & Midland Railway Company, said: “Colorado Midland & Pacific Railway Company (CMP) has entered into a commercial agreement with Union Pacific Railroad (UP) for the majority of the Tennessee Pass rail line in Colorado owned by UP. CMP has filed for common-carrier authority to operate the Tennessee Pass Line with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, the federal agency that regulates railroads.”
The issue is, Colorado Pacific Railroad has had its eye on the Tennessee Pass line. Union Pacific started discussing the sale of the line to Colorado Pacific in 2019 but an offer of 10 million USD ultimately got turned down. Colorado Pacific wanted to force UP to sell the line for 8.8 million USD – but this was turned down in court. As of October 2020 Colorado Pacific attempted another forced sale.
Almost 260 shippers and railroads have submitted letters of support to the STB for the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger.
Us President Biden has laid out his American Jobs Plan that will see more than $600 billion of spending on infrastructure, including rail.
Metra, Chicago's rail operator, has ordered 200 push-pull railcars from Alstom. The board approved a procurement of 500 units in total.
Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, two Class 1 railroads, have agreed on a merger deal worth 29 billion USD.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has awarded Hitachi a contract for 256 8000-series railcars with options for 544 more.
Following increased demand and with the help of Congressional funding, Amtrak will restore daily services to 12 long-distance services.
The USDOT and DART have agreed a refinancing of a $908 million loan for the Silver Line that will save DART $190 million in interest payments.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority has issued its revised draft business plan, which will go to the California Legislature in April.
The US Senate has confirmed Pete Buttigieg as Secretary of Transportation in the Biden Administration, with 83 votes in favour, 13 against.
Amtrak Midwest has been testing the new Siemens Mobility Venture railcars, which are being manufactured in Sacramento, California.
Amtrak's CEO has written to Congress outlining the passenger railroad's five key demands to recover from COVID and expand services.
BNSF and Wabtec are testing a battery-electric locomotive between Barstow and Stockton (CA) to test the viability of battery technology.
A look at three rail line extensions that will open in the United States in 2021 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Seattle, and the Boston area.
President-elect Joe Biden has nominated former Mayor of South Bend as his transportation secretary, a move welcomed by the rail industry.
Seth Moulton introduced the American High-Speed Rail Act which proposes to invest $205 billion in the US's high-speed rail infrastructure.
Alstom is the latest member to join the US High Speed Rail Association following Deutsche Bahn prior to Biden's inauguration.
Amtrak will operate the Metrolink services in Southern California from 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2025, having beaten four competing bids.
BNSF has won a court case in Oklahoma challenging a state law banning trains from stopping for more than 10 minutes on a level crossing.
CSX, a United States Class 1 railroad, has announced that it will acquire Pan Am Railways, expanding its presence in New England.
The FRA has published its third quarter 2020 update on the implementation of positive train control on the mandated route miles.
Deutsche Bahn has become a member of the US High Speed Rail Association, which aims to promote support for high-speed rail in America.
Amtrak, SEPTA and PennDOT have received 15.9m USD in grant funding from the FRA to upgrade signalling equipment on the Harrisburg Line.
USHSR has published a 5-point plan for developing high-speed rail in the US, starting with a new High Speed Rail Development Authority.
Project Connect was on the ballot for voters as they went to the polls on 3 November 2020 and they voted in favour of light rail in Austin.
The American Public Transportation Association says all commuter railroads in the United States are on track to meet the 2020 PTC deadline.
The United States has a new president-elect, Joe Biden. But why is he called 'Amtrak Joe'? And what has he said about the importance of rail?
The renovation of The Broadmoor Cog Railway has reached its halfway milestone, prior to its expected reopening in May 2021.
Hitachi Rail has won a contracty worth 798 million USD to install a modern CBTC system in the San Francisco Bay Area (BART).
Siemens Mobility has received an order from Valley Metro, Phoenix, Arizona, for a further 14 S700 light rail vehicles.
The proposed high-speed railway between Dallas and Houston has reached an important milestone with regulatory approvals from the FRA.
The RTA has received a 15 million USD Build grant that will help pay for the new heavy rail Red Line fleet it wishes to procure.
Katie Farmer will take over from Carl R. Ice as CEO and President of BNSF starting on 1 January 2021, following his retirement.
NJ TRANSIT has exercised an option from a 2008 contract for a further 8 ALP-45 dual-power locomotives from Bombardier Transportation.
Amtrak has now completed the installation of positive train control (PTC) across its entire 898 miles of track it owns.
Amtrak has revealed renderings of the new ALC-42 Siemens Charger diesel-electric locomotives that fulfil Tier 4 emissions standards.
Bombardier has signed a contract with the NCTD (California) for 11 BiLevel coaches and cab cars for the Coaster service.
Ground-breaking events for the new 26-mile Silver Line took place at six locations in the Dallas Area Rapid Transit region on 19 September.
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is headquartered in Washington, D.C. It lobbies Congress on behalf of the railroad industry.
An in-brief look at current rail policy in the United States issued by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), ASLRRA and more.
The MBTA has ordered 80 double-decker coaches from Hyundai-Rotem to add capacity to its commuter rail services and replace ageing vehicles.
Hosted by the RSI, REMSA and RSSI, Railway Interchange takes place every two years. This year the event is being hosted in Minneapolis.
The Railway-News Industry Insider week 33: all the latest rail news, including rolling stock and signalling contracts and station technology.
The first new CRRC train for the MBTA Orange Line entered service on 14 August 2019. A total of 152 new cars will replace the entire existing fleet by 2022.
The Railway-News Industry Insider week 31: Alstom supply 10 additonal Coradia trains to various French regions, launch the Citadis and more.
Amtrak has announced the launch of its new Acela Nonstop service between Washington Union Station (WAS) and New York Penn Station (NYP).
FreightCar America Inc. announced that it has started the process to permanently close its Roanoke, Virginia railcar manufacturing facility.
The Railway-News Industry Insider week 30: Deutsche Bahn resumes acceptance of ICE 4 trains, purchased 17 new double-decker trains and more.
Following successful testing BART says it will fit all of its trains with new bike straps, which customers prefer over U-shaped rubber docks.
Uber Transit allows passengers in Denver to use the Uber app to plan journeys and buy tickets for transit in-app for a seamless experience.
The Railway-News Industry Insider week 27: Vivarail wins Environment Award, Switzerland invests 1 billion in its rail infrastructure and more.
BART has begun its upgrade works to the traction power substations on its network. San Leandro is the first station to get a new substation.
DART – Dallas Area Rapid Transit is to get a 60 million USD grant so it can perform platform extension works on its Red and Blue Lines.
Bombardier has won a contract to operate and maintain the San Francisco APM, which serves the city's airport, for a period of ten years.
Bombardier is opening an assembly site in California to move production of its Fleet of the Future rail cars for BART to the west coast.
The Railway-News Industry Insider week 23: Alstom, Bombardier/Hitachi and Siemens mobility release their proposed train designs for HS2.
The US Supreme Court has ruled against the AAR in a legal dispute with the DOT about Amtrak's regulatory power over its industry.
Stadler has won a contract with Dallas Area Rapid Transit for the supply of 8 diesel FLIRT trains. DART expects them to enter service in 2022.
The Railway-News Industry Insider week 21: Alstom wins a contract for 27 fuel cell trains and installs its incremental train control system.
A Talgo-SYSTRA JV has been awarded a refurbishment contract for Metrolink 50 rail cars. The contract will be completed by April 2023.
Virgin Trains USA, formerly Brightline, have selected the contractors to begin the expansion works to Orlando International Airport.
The University of Colorado A Line, a commuter rail line in Denver, US, celebrates a milestone of 20 million passenger trips this week.
This summer Amtrak will once again continue its New York Penn Station renewal works, upgrading important and critical infrastructure.
The MBTA has exercised a contract option for the overhaul of an additional 27 F40 locomotives. The first will enter service in late 2020.
The Railway-News Industry Insider week 16: Stadler presents its new Capricorn train and wins locomotive contract in Finland.
Amtrak is increasing Acela Express services on the Northeast Corridor on Saturdays prior to introducing the new Avelia Liberty fleet in 2021.
In the Industry Insider Week 13: Deutsche Bahn considers sale options for DB Arriva and Stadler wins its biggest vehicle order to date.
Stadler has won a contract with MARTA for 127 two-car metro trains for Atlanta to service the airport. Delivery will begin in 2023.
In this week's Railway-News Industry Insider: Alstom wins signalling upgrade contract in Boston, and Switzerland to reduce price of using rail network.
Alstom and Barletta Engineering have won a Boston subway signalling contract to upgrade the equipment for the city's red and orange lines.
The Railway-News Industry Insider for week 8: all the latest rail news, from the Trump Administration's plans to defund CHSR to new locomotives for Poland.
The Red and Purple Lines of the Chicago rapid transit system are undergoing modernisation works. Arcadis has been selected as project manager.
The Trump Administration, following a Trump tweet, is seeking to defund the California High Speed Rail project, cancelling funds of almost 1 billion USD.
All the important rail news of the week, summed up for you in one place: our Railway-News Industry Insider for 21–25 January 2019.
Positive news. The US Class 1 railroads have reached a PTC milestone. At the close of 2018 they had installed positive train control (PTC) on 83.2 percent of th...
We are back with the Railway-News Industry Insider for weeks 1 and 2 (1–11 January 2019): the railway industry's latest news, covering North America, China an...
The New Jersey Transit Corporation and Bombardier have signed a contract for 113 multilevel III passenger cars. This contract is worth 669 million US dollars (5...
Canadian rail company Rocky Mountaineer has selected Alstom to rebuild two further SilverLeaf cars. The SilverLeaf modernisation contract involves Alstom fully ...
The Railway-News Industry Insider week 49: all the important railway news from the week 3–7 December 2018, covering rolling stock, infrastructure and opinion ...
Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI), a non-profit organisation which campaigns for improvements in rail safety, has appointed Jessica Puchala director of communicat...
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CAHSR Authority) has announced that its Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report for the critical Fresno-Bakersf...
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has announced Ian Jefferies as the new CEO of the organisation. He will succeed Edward R. Hamburger in the position ...
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the remaining grants for the installation of Positive Train Co...
Canadian National Railway Ltd have ordered 60 locomotives from GE Transportation (GE).The units in the order include GE’s Tier 4 Evolution™ Series locomotiv...
The first car-shells for 16 six-car KISS trains for the Caltrain project have arrived at Stadler US’s factory in Salt Lake City, Utah. Caltrain is part of the...
Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of New York State, has announced $2.6 billion of investment to expand the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), including the construction of ...
Michael W. Upchurch, Chief Financial Officer of Kansas City Southern (KCS), will deliver addresses at Cowan and Company’s 11th annual Global Transport Confere...
The Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA) has announced that Bruce Wise, President of the organisation since 2017 is stepping down. He w...
The Federal Railroad Administration has awarded grant funding to 28 projects to assist with the instalment of positive train control (PTC). The deadline for ins...
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has issued its annual sustainability report which highlights the progress in all aspects of the this principle ...
The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) has published an Economic Impact Report which highlights the number of jobs and industries su...
The Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA) has appointed Jacob Carter as its new government affairs manager. He will liaise between Membe...
Union Pacific Corporation (UP) has reported a net income of $1.5 billion for the second quarter of 2018. This figure equates to $1.98 per diluted share, a recor...
Kansas City Southern (KCS) has announced that its subsidiaries in the United States and Mexico have ordered 50 new locomotives from GE Transportation.The Tier 4...
BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) has applied for a PTC deadline extension of two years. All trains which operate on its lines equipped with PTC must also comply with...
CSX Corporation Ltd is soliciting bids from contractors for the operation of six new rail segments in New York, Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia and Cana...
Amtrak has been working with BNSF Railway to get Positive Train Control (PTC) in place on a number of track sections (subdivisions) owned by BNSF and used by Am...
Bombardier has won two contracts from LAX Integrated Express Solutions (LINXS) for the design, build and maintenance of an automated people mover at Los Angeles...
In January 2018 Brightline started private passenger rail services on the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. Railway-...
The Association of American Railroads has released a report on the improvements in safety, reliability and efficiency on the US freight network facilitated by n...
Amtrak has announced that it will refurbish the carpets and seating on all of its Acela Express trains on the NEC by 2019; before the introduction of a new flee...
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