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Railroading is full of ghosts. Of all the transportation industries, perhaps only ocean shipping has more abandoned piles of equipment, either hidden under the depths of water or rusting away [...]

I stood at the back door of the coach, hidden from the passengers in the vestibule, taking a moment to myself at my favorite spot. Outside, through the open door, […]

More track work lies ahead for Oregon's Coos Bay branch, which saw its first train Oct. 11 after four years of inactivity. But those behind the revitalization have something bigger [...]

The Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation plans to break ground in June on its permanent museum complex, despite needing more money to complete the project. The foundation, a consortium of Portland, [...]

Passengers disembark from two rebuilt ex-Alaska Railroad Budd Rail Diesel Cars, TMTC 1702 and 1711, at Wilsonville, Ore., on Jan. 24, 2011, their first day in revenue service on TriMet's [...]

During the 1990s, the United States experienced a mini-boom of interest in high speed rail. In New York, Gov. Mario Cuomo proposed a maglev line to Buffalo, while the South [...]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Rotem USA Corp., a division of Hyundai Motors Group, will build railcars for Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and other transit agencies in a 290,000-square-foot building in South Philadelphia. […]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Seattle's metropolitan bus and rail system, Sound Transit, capped a remarkable year with the completion of several capital projects. But future expansion is less certain, after voters defeated […]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Minnesota's first commuter trains will boast this paint scheme when it appears on four remanufactured MP36 diesels for Metro Transit's Northstar service. "The use of color is reminiscent […]

A light-rail car glides to a stop, the doors open, and people rush in and out. "The doors are closing," says a disembodied voice, followed by the same phrase in […]

San Francisco to San Jose commuter carrier Caltrain continued to emerge from from financial doldrums of the late 1990s when it announced in fall 2006 a capital project worth more […]

The Night Journal By Elizabeth Crook. Viking, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014; www.elizabethcrookbooks. com; 91 /2 x 61 /2 in; hardcover; 464 pages; $24.95. Crossing the genre border […]

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has the fifth-largest light-rail system in the nation, and it's about to get bigger. On July 3, DART signed a Full Funding Grant Agreement from […]

Rail Runner express, the 15-mile commuter-rail system extending from Albuquerque to Bernalillo, N.M., carried more than 4,000 passengers on July 15, its first day in service. By the end of […]

Despite hurricanes, extensive track-work-related delays, and the loss of a brand-new car before it even arrived on the property, Florida's Tri-Rail is poised to make great strides in improving its […]

There is no question that rail-based transit is making a major comeback in the United States. According to the American Public Transportation Association, more than 5,000 track-miles of rail transit […]

Logging Railroads of Weyerhaeuser's Vail-McDonald Operation By Frank W. Telewski and Scott D. Barrett. Oso Publishing Co., P.O. Box 1249, Hamilton, MT 59840; www.osorail.com; 9 x 111 /2 in; hardcover; […]

Amtrak funding is a perennial topic of congressional debate. In the past year, the Bush administration has made no secret about its desire to eliminate Amtrak. What many urban residents […]

Denver Regional Transportation District cars 205 and 208, Siemens SD-160 light- rail vehicles pictured at the Elati maintenance facility on Oct. 10, are the latest in the agency's 34-car, $82 […]

Winter is a tough time to be in the transit business. Ice and snow can shut down a light-rail system that's not used to the impact of a sudden weather […]

Transit manufacturers were doing their best to showcase innovative designs at the American Public Transportation Association EXPO 2005 in Dallas Sept. 26-29. The exhibit floor featured "technology that you maybe […]

Firefighters remove injured passengers from the wreckage of Metra commuter train 504 on the Rock Island District on Sept. 17. Two passengers died and more than 80 were injured when […]

PORTLAND UNION STATION IS A CHARMER. From its graceful Richardson Romanesque tower, still-functioning Seth Thomas clock, and 1940s-vintage "Go By Train" neon sign to its seemingly insignificant phone booths and […]

Running a commuter system over the tracks of a Class I freight railroad can be a tricky proposition. Dispatching errors, tight capacity, trackwork, and management philosophies all contribute to delayed […]

On Dec. 4, Minneapolis-St. Paul's Metro Transit opened 4 additional miles of its Hiawatha light-rail line, 27 days ahead of schedule. The extension completes the city's first rail transit system […]

The jury's verdict is in: New York City's JFK AirTrain is a success--despite ridership languishing at about 8,000 daily riders, 25% lower than projected. More than 20,000 daily riders use […]

The first of New Jersey Transit's 33 new Alstom PL42AC diesels, styled by Cesar Vergara (who did Amtrak's Genesis units), paused at Selkirk Yard, N.Y., on Oct. 1, […]

On Oct. 21, the District of Columbia's Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) officially approved a $3.3 billion, six-year funding plan that will enable the agency to make substantial upgrades […]

It's been a rough year for monorails. Seattle's Alweg monorail, built for the 1962 World's Fair, endured a fire in May 2004 that shut down the system in the midst […]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: On Nov. 3, a non-revenue train headed to Shady Grove to turn around and re-enter service on Washington, D.C.'s Metrorail rolled backward and slammed into a loaded […]

Washington State's Sounder commuter-rail service, operated by Sound Transit, this fall stepped closer to extending service south by purchasing a 6.5-mile line from Burlington Northern Santa Fe for $13.5 million. […]

Continuing on its successful incremental approach to expansion, Texas' Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) began testing its latest light rail addition to the American Airlines Center on Oct. 4. The […]

When the San Francisco Municipal Railway ("Muni") opened its "F" Line streetcar route in 1995, it never expected the success it would achieve. The line, running between Fisherman's Wharf and […]

Not all Amtrak journeys must be multi-day treks across the continent. You can enjoy one of many round-trip rides in just one day. Some runs are mostly about the rail [...]

At nearly $2 billion, the Seattle Monorail Project is the most expensive rail transit project in the nation today. Its goal is a 14-mile monorail linking the suburbs of Ballard […]

Can a commuter railroad agency regulate railfan photography on its platforms or on board its trains? Apparently, New Jersey Transit believes so, and it's moving forward with a plan to […]

The Adirondack Scenic Railroad ended 2012 with its highest ridership ever--80,000. The railroad was founded in 1992, and has grown to become the second largest tourist attraction in New York's [...]

The November general election was mixed for rail transit throughout the U.S. Projects in two states advanced, while efforts in three others faced setbacks. 'Despite concerns about the economy, voters [...]

Portland, Ore.'s standing as the city with the nation's largest modern streetcar network is undeniable after the opening of a $148.7 million, 3.35 mile double-track expansion of its system. The [...]

New streetcar systems are under construction all across the United States, thanks in part to rising gasoline prices and increasing traffic congestion. Street-cars, like light-rail vehicles, operate on rails and [...]

Seattle City Council on June 27 approved the city's $47.5 million South Lake Union Streetcar Project, which would run 1.5 miles between the Westlake Shopping Center and the bottom of […]

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority in San Jose, Calif., on Aug. 12 extended its light rail system 5.3 miles between downtown San Jose and Campbell, The $316.8 million line, begun […]

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority on July 14 received state approval on a $21.1 billion, 5-year, capital improvement plan, including $4.5 billion for subway […]

The Federal Railroad Administration on July 15 released a preliminary report into Los Angeles Metrolink's January crash, concluding that the use of "push mode" did not significantly contribute to additional […]

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt appointed Hugh Scott III to the board of St. Louis Metro on July 7; Scott was then elected the agency's chairman, and promised full cooperation with […]

Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell on July 11 signed a $1.3 billion transportation bond bill. Funds are to be used primarily for 342 electric multiple-unit cars for Metro-North's New Haven […]

The Seattle Monorail Project board on June 30 vetoed a bonding package that would have included up to $11 billion in interest on a $2 billion principal toward construction of […]

In the aftermath of the July bombings in London, U.S. transit agencies raised security alerts, sent out extra patrols, and the industry's trade group called for $2 billion more for […]

Metra and Elgin, Joliet & Eastern VIPs viewing Metra's future S.T.A.R. line on July 21 pause near the future site of the line's Spaulding station. The circumferential route would provide […]

Bicentennial commemorations of the Lewis & Clark expedition continued in 2005 and, in the West, communities along the explorers' route celebrated, some of them on the rails. Oregon's offering was […]