WASHINGTON — Another piece of the federal funding puzzle for the Northstar commuter line has fallen into place, officials said.
Congressman Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., announced a $5.6 million grant has been awarded to the Northstar Corridor Rail Project. The funding will help secure an easement from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad to permit the commuter [...]

WASHINGTON — Responding to requests for additional food cart service onboard the Amtrak high-speed premium Acela Express service, Amtrak has announced expanded food cart service on its premier Northeast Corridor trains.
The cart service is featured on four additional Acela Express trains traveling daily between New York and Washington, D.C., bringing the total of Acela Express [...]

OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma City woman was surprised by TV cameras, reporters and prizes today at both ends of the Amtrak Heartland Flyer route in Oklahoma and Texas. Marilea Hoffmann was chosen by reservation number to represent the half-millionth passenger when she boarded the train at the Paul Adams Memorial Platform in Oklahoma City.
A [...]

OAKLAND – Amtrak has received approval from the Federal Railroad Administration to make recommended repairs on the Talgo-manufactured railcars used in the operation of Amtrak Cascades service between Eugene, Ore. and Bellingham, Wash.
As the trainsets are repaired, they will be rotated back into service one at a time starting this weekend. All trainsets will be [...]

WASHINGTON — Republican Members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee warned that re-regulation of the nation’s successful railroad industry could spell a return to a highly inefficient “Soviet-style” rail system that eliminates private investment and relies primarily on government subsidies.
The Committee conducted a hearing Sept. 25 on rail competition and service.
“Thirty years ago, our [...]

WASHINGTON — Railroad safety continued to improve significantly during the first half of 2007 as 34 states experienced fewer train derailments and collisions as compared to the same period last year, Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph H. Boardman announced.
A review of the preliminary statistics compiled by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for January through June 2007 [...]

WASHINGTON — The collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis Aug. 1 focused attention on the condition of the nation’s highway bridges, but a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released last month warns that many of the nation’s railroad bridges and tunnels may also be at risk.
While most highway bridges are built [...]

NEWARK, N.J. — Rahway Station has been dedicated to the late L. Richard Mariani to memorialize his leadership and dedication as an N.J. Transit employee to the mission of promoting public transportation and caring for the customer.
The Rahway Center Partnership unveiled a plaque during a ceremony at Rahway Station on the Northeast Corridor rail line [...]

NEWARK, N.J. — N.J. Transit ridership set new all-time highs in Fiscal Year 2007 (FY07), with average weekday ridership reaching 865,000 weekday trips on the agency’s bus, rail and light rail lines.
The Corporation’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.
The fourth quarter (April-June) showed an overall ridership increase of four percent above the [...]

NEWARK, N.J. — Initiatives to increase the use of public transportation along the increasingly congested I-78 and Raritan Valley Line corridors will be explored in a study approved today by the N.J. Transit Board of Directors.
The study will build upon a North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) study and advance some of the NJTPA recommendations [...]