Tag Archives: rail travel

De Blasio Pitches Streetcar Line For NYC Waterfront

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio today introduced a proposal for a $2.5B streetcar line that would run along 16 miles of the East River waterfront in Brooklyn and Queens. Via the New York Times: By winding along the East River, the streetcars would vastly expand transportation access to a bustling stretch of the city that has undergone rapid …

Read More »

NEW YORK CITY: Gov. Cuomo Lays Out Ambitious $3 Billion Renovation Plan For Penn Station

Gothamist reports: Governor Cuomo announced on Wednesday that he is spearheading a comprehensive overhaul of Penn Station. In conjunction with Amtrak and the MTA, the renovation will seek a private developer to convert the Farley post office building on Eighth Avenue into a grand, sun-soaked waiting area. Maybe this time the stories will be true? The project—dubbed the Empire Station …

Read More »

FRANCE: Five Killed In High-Speed Train Derailment

A French high-speed train has derailed and burned near the German border. At this writing there are five reported fatalities. According to French sources this was a test train, meaning that it may not have been carrying passengers. Contrary to claims on social media, as of yet there are no reports that the incident is terrorism-related.

Read More »

The Destruction Of Penn Station

Mashable has published a photo essay which looks back at the original Penn Station. In 1910, when New York City transportation terminal Pennsylvania Station opened, it was widely praised for its majestic architecture. Designed in the Beaux-Arts style, it featured pink granite construction and a stately colonnade on the exterior.The main waiting room, inspired by the Roman Baths of Caracalla, …

Read More »

Conductor Sues Amtrak Over Philly Crash

Via NBC News: One of the conductors aboard the Amtrak train that derailed last week in Philadelphia has sued the rail carrier. Emilio Fonseca, of Kearny, New Jersey, filed the lawsuit Monday in Newark. It seeks unspecified damages. The complaint accuses Amtrak of “negligence and carelessness” in the May 12 derailment that killed eight people and injured more than 200. …

Read More »

Amtrak Resumes NYC-Philly Service

Via the New York Times: Amtrak trains began rolling on the busy Northeast Corridor early Monday, the first time in almost a week following a deadly crash in Philadelphia, and officials vowed to have safer trains and tracks while investigators worked to determine the cause of the derailment. Amtrak resumed service along the corridor with a 5:30 a.m. southbound train …

Read More »

Airlines Accused Of Price Gouging As Amtrak Continues Service Suspension

Via the New York Times: A check of Delta Air Lines fares at La Guardia Airport at 10 a.m. on Thursday found that a ticket on the 12:30 p.m. shuttle to Washington could be found — for $2,309. But a ticket on the noon shuttle cost $554. Even under ordinary circumstances, airfares can seem something of a mystery, but veteran …

Read More »

Amtrak Crash Engineer Is Openly Gay

Teabagistan is ablaze tonight after the engineer of the Amtrak train that crashed in Philadelphia was identified as Brandon Bostian, an openly gay man who campaigned against Prop 8 while living in San Francisco and for gay marriage after moving to New York. Via Heavy: Brandon Bostian, 32, has been an engineer for Amtrak since December 2010, according to his …

Read More »

REPORT: Amtrak Train Was Traveling Twice Speed Limit At Time Of Crash

Via the Wall Street Journal: An Amtrak train involved in a fatal crash here appears to have been traveling at more than 100 miles an hour as it entered a sharp curve where it derailed Tuesday night, killing at least six people, according to two people with knowledge of the investigation. The speed limit in that section of track drops …

Read More »

Update On Amtrak Derailment

It’s ten hours later and transit officials have not yet announced a cause for last night’s Amtrak disaster in Philadelphia, which has claimed six lives at this writing. The crash occurred where the track curves through the Port Richmond neighborhood and it’s the site of a 1943 train crash that killed 79 passengers. That crash remains one of the deadliest …

Read More »

Amtrak Train Derails In Philadelphia

A New York City-bound ten-car Amtrak train out of Washington DC derailed tonight in the Port Richmond neighborhood of Philadelphia. On board was former US Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA), who is assisting the injured. No fatalities are being reported at this writing. The top photo above was taken by Murphy, who estimates that the train was “traveling 60-70 mph” at …

Read More »

JAPAN: Mag-Lev Train Sets New Record

The BBC reports: A Japanese magnetic levitation train has broken its own world speed record, hitting 603km/h (374mph) in a test run near Mount Fuji. The train beat the 590km/h speed it had set last week in another test. Mag-lev trains use electrically charged magnets to lift and move carriages above the rail tracks. Central Japan Railway (JR Central), which …

Read More »

Another Passenger Train Derailment

Via Raleigh’s CBS affiliate: An Amtrak train derailed Monday in Halifax County at the intersection of U.S. Highway 301 and N.C. Highway 903. The Daily Herald in Roanoke Rapids reported that the train collided with a transfer truck, and the train’s engine was on its side. The other cars remained upright. Charlotte Story, a student at the University of North …

Read More »

CALIFORNIA: Dozens Injured In Commuter Train Collision With Truck

Via the Los Angeles Times: A Metrolink train derailed in Oxnard early today after colliding with a tractor trailer on the tracks. The collision occurred about 5:55 a.m. at the Rice Road crossing, Metrolink spokesman Scott Johnson told the Los Angeles Times. The collision derailed three of the passenger train’s cars and injured at least 30 people, he said. He …

Read More »

Deadly Crash Closes Metro-North Line

Service on Metro-North’s Harlem line is suspended this morning following a deadly Westchester County crash that killed seven late yesterday afternoon. The train out of Grand Central Terminal was going northbound on the Harlem line when it struck a Jeep Cherokee at the Commerce Street crossing in Valhalla at about 6:30 p.m., officials said. The Jeep was stopped on the …

Read More »

All NYC Mass Transit To Close At 11PM

This includes subways, buses, ferries, PATH, Metro-North, Long Island Railroad, and (perhaps obviously) AirTrain. New Jersey Transit will suspend all rail service until Thursday at 8PM tonight. No re-start time for the MTA has yet been announced. Wherever you are at 11PM, you’ll likely be there for 36-48 hours. UPDATE: Gov. Cuomo has also declared a ban on all non-emergency …

Read More »

Cuomo Proposes Rail Link To LGA

During his State Of The State address, yesterday New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed connecting LaGuardia Airport to New York City’s rail system via a new AirTrain line. Adding rail service to LGA is an idea that has been pitched and abandoned several times in recent decades. Cuomo’s plan involves a 1.5 mile long LGA AirTrain running over the Grand …

Read More »

Photo Of The Day

Gizmodo reports: NYC’s East Side Access Project continues apace, and these recent images, taken last month by MTA photographer Rehema Trimiew, show a whole new view of the mind-boggling underground caverns now being constructed beneath Manhattan. From raw walls of exposed geology to this, the space is finally taking on the look and feel of architecture. The titanic yellow facility—its …

Read More »

NEW YORK CITY: At Least Four Dead In Metro-North Train Derailment In Bronx

A Grand Central-bound Metro-North train filled with returning holiday travelers derailed this morning in the Bronx.  Emergency responders report at least four deaths and dozens of injuries. The train appeared to be going “a lot faster” than usual as it approached the tricky curve coming into Spuyten Duyvil station, passenger Frank Tatulli told WABC-TV. “It [the train] left them [tracks] …

Read More »

Rail Service Suspended Indefinitely After Metro-North Commuter Train Crash

Commuters may face weeks of difficulty in getting to New York City after Friday’s train collision, which left dozens injured. Metro-North’s New Haven Line service east of Fairfield — and Amtrak’s service between New York and Boston — was suspended in the wake of the crash, and authorities said it could take two weeks or more before service resumes. The …

Read More »