Prototype News

Union Pacific announced that 4-8-8-4 “Big Boy” 4014 would travel to Philadelphia to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. 

The tour will follow a trip to California this spring. The eastern leg will depart Cheyenne, Wyo., on May 25, and include display days in Omaha, Neb.; Chicago; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Scranton, Pa., before Big Boy’s arrival in Philadelphia for Independence Day. Additional display days are anticipated in Altoona, Pa., and St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo., before the tour concludes July 29.

The trip will mark the first time a Big Boy — one of the largest and most powerful steam locomotives ever built — will operate in the Eastern United States. 

UP also announced the release of two new commemorative locomotives. The first is SD70M 1776, featuring the “America 250” logo on the standard UP ‘Building America’ livery introduced in 2001. The second is locomotive 4547, named for President Donald J. Trump, and the third in a series of units painted to honor presidents. Previous units paid tribute to Abraham Lincoln and George H.W. Bush. —Justin Franz 

The post UP ‘Big Boy’ to Visit East Coast appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.

Southern California’s Metrolink passenger rail service on March 23 will begin “taking temporary action that prioritizes weekday reliability as the agency navigates a shortage of service-ready equipment,” it reported, due to “an increase in mechanical issues [in recent months], combined with ongoing difficulty sourcing replacement parts.”

The operator, which has 545.6 total service line miles and 67 stations across six counties, said it will adjust or suspend select weekday trips while keeping the highest-ridership trains across all lines (see map above). The targeted changes, said to be affecting approximately 40 train trips or nearly one in five weekday trains, are intended to “minimize disruption for riders.” (Download new schedule below.)

Six of Metrolink’s seven lines will operate on a modified weekday schedule that is expected to remain in place for seven weeks, with 12 trains impacted on the San Bernardino Line; four on the 91/Perris Valley and Inland Empire-Orange County lines, respectively; six on both the Orange County and Ventura County lines; and eight on the Antelope Valley Line. Riverside Line service will not be impacted, and Metrolink’s Arrow service, a nine-mile extension of the San Bernardino County Line linking the cities of San Bernardino and Redlands, will operate normally.

According to Metrolink, the seven-week timeframe may change depending on equipment availability and operating conditions. It noted that the temporary service changes do not automatically change fares or ticket rules; any separate fare action would be communicated independently.

The Metrolink fleet includes 258 railcars from Bombardier (now Alstom; called the Sentinel Fleet) and Hyundai Rotem (called the Guardian Fleet), comprising 57 cab cars and 201 coaches, and 60 locomotives (40 Electro-Motive Diesel/Progress Rail F-125s; 15 Motive Power, Inc. MP36PH-3Cs; and five Electro-Motive Diesel F59PHR locomotives rebuilt to FRA Tier 2 specifications). It has three DMUs (diesel multiple units) and one Zero-Emission Multiple Unit (ZEMU) for the Arrow service. (Download Fact Sheet and 2020-40 Fleet Management Report below).

Metrolink celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2022. It is operated by the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA), a joint powers authority made up of an 11-member Board representing the transportation commissions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.

• CTC Approves $1.1B in Infrastructure Funds
• Metrolink Expands “Smart” Crossing Technology (part of Transit Briefs)

The post For Metrolink, ‘Temporary’ Service Cuts Amid Equipment Shortage appeared first on Railway Age.

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) on March 19 reported seeking proposals from railcar manufacturers for what it described as its “largest subway car contract in history” with a base order of 1,140 cars to replace the R62 and R62A fleets operating on New York City Transit’s (NYCT) 1, 3, 6 lines, and if an option to purchase the additional 1,250 cars is exercised, to replace the R142 and R142A cars on the 2, 4, 5 lines. In total, the contract includes 2,390 model R262 cars for the “A” (numbered) Division, which MTA said was more cars than the Chicago Transit Authority and Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority subway fleets combined. Proposals are due Sept. 8, 2026, and a contract is expected to be awarded by early 2028.

The contract will be funded by MTA’s $68 billion 2025-29 Capital Plan. The purchase also includes funds made available through the 2020-2024 Capital Plan, which is supported by congestion pricing revenues, according to MTA.

The transit agency said its RFP (Request for Proposals) outlines that the future order will contain a “to be determined” number of open gangway cars, which would be a first on the A Division. It also outlines “technical specifications that are designed to enhance efficiency, security, performance, and the customer experience.” These include “higher quality announcement systems, assistive listening devices that allow hearing-impaired passengers to connect to personal devices, like hearing aids.” Efficiency upgrades, it noted, include installation of automatic passenger counting (APC) system and electric braking control to achieve savings through fewer parts. Security specifications include onboard cameras like those currently installed on the existing subway fleet and onboard platform edge CCTV, along with an electronic lock to prevent unauthorized cab access.

2,390 subway cars. The largest order ever.

The process of bringing new cars to the 1, 3, and 6 lines has begun. pic.twitter.com/N7dE0nRScH

With a new Rolling Stock Program in place—announced in February and led by MTA veteran Jessie Lazarus to manage the purchase of all new subway, bus, and commuter railcars, including the $12 billion investment from the 2025-29 Capital Plan to replace the MTA’s aging fleets—the MTA said it “has approached this contract differently, modernizing the terms and conditions and encouraging innovation by giving manufacturers greater flexibility to propose new ideas.” The agency noted that more than 60% of the technical specifications are also now “performance-based, rather than design-driven,” and for the first time, the terms request proposers to submit “total cost of ownership projections.” These efforts, it said, “result in a streamlined contract that adopts a balanced approach between the current challenges that contractors face and ensuring that the Authority retains the necessary tools at its disposal to ensure the timely delivery of quality cars that riders deserve.”

This “historic” car contract could replace up to 36.4% of the subway’s entire fleet—17.3% percent with just the base order alone, MTA said. The subway’s entire fleet comprises 6,574 cars. “The new cars will significantly improve reliability with a higher mean distance between failure,” MTA reported. “The R262 has an MDBF requirement of 200,000 miles, compared to the R62/R62A’s average of 89,000 miles. This upgrade will reduce the number of problems customers experience en route and decrease the amount of time cars are taken out of service.”

“Thanks to [New York] Governor [Kathy] Hochul, the MTA has a historic $68 billion 2025-2029 Capital Plan, and New Yorkers are seeing a Golden Age of transit investment,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said during the announcement (watch video below). “So much of our capital investment goes unseen, but this next subway car order—our largest ever—is a major step to visibly delivering the modern transit system New Yorkers deserve.”

MTA Chief, Rolling Stock Program Jessie Lazarus said: “This will be the largest order of new subway cars in MTA history, and we’re modernizing our approach to attract as many qualified firms as possible. We’re asking the industry to come with their best ideas—technical and commercial—to meet our performance standards and help the MTA deliver the world class transit experience our customers deserve.”

“We’re talking about replacing cars that have been around since the 1980s—is anyone else driving 40 year-old-cars?” NYCT President Demetrius Crichlow commented. “Even though we’ve managed to achieve historic on-time performance while adding service with this fleet, it’s time to enter the modern era. And our first of its kind Railcar Acceptance and Testing Facility [launched in November near the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park] serves as a symbol to New Yorkers that we’re serious about delivering on the promise of this historic procurement.”

Separately, in October the MTA Board approved the $1.507 billion order for 378 new Kawasaki Rail Car, Inc.-built R268 rapid transit cars for NYCT. The cars will run on the B (lettered) Division and begin arriving in fall 2028. This contract builds on the successful procurement of R211 cars.

In January 2018, MTA awarded a contract to Kawasaki to design, build, and deliver 535 rapid transit cars, comprising 440 R211A (traditional closed-end) and 20 R211T (open gangway) cars for NYCT, and 75 R211S cars for Staten Island Railway (SIR). The contract included two options: Option 1 for 640 cars, and Option 2, for 333-437 cars. In October 2022, the agency exercised Option 1 for 640 R211s for $1.78 billion. MTA in December 2024 exercised Option 2 for 435 additional R211s—355 R211A/S cars and 80 R211T cars. That option, valued at $1.27 billion, brought the total number of R211s ordered to 1,610. As of late 2025, 750 of the R211s had been delivered; another 860 were still to arrive. MTA began phasing into service the first two R211T trainsets in 2024. R211s are now running on the A, B, C and G lines, and there are plans to add them on the D and the Rockaway Park S within the next two years, according to MTA. All the cars for SIR are in operation.

Separately, MTA in June 2025 announced that its Finance Committee approved the purchase of 316 Alstom Transportation-built M-9As. This included 160 cars for Long Island Rail Road and 156 for Metro-North Railroad.

• Watch: NYMTA Launches Railcar Acceptance, Testing Facility
• MTA Releases Final 2026 Ops Budget, Four-Year Financial Plan (part of Transit Briefs)
• Kawasaki to Supply 378 More ‘B’ Division Cars to NYCT
• MBTA Issues RFP for New Battery Electric, Low-Emissions Locomotives

The post Watch: NYMTA Releases RFP for ‘Historic’ Subway Car Order appeared first on Railway Age.

The Port of Long Beach (POLB) on March 18 reported “solid” cargo volumes in February “amid ongoing uncertainty over the impact of tariffs and conflict in the Middle East.”

Dockworkers and terminal operators handled 767,525 TEUs (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) of cargo containers last month, up 0.3% from February 2025, the Port said. Year-over-year, imports were down 0.2% to 368,060 TEUs, while exports rose 8.2% to 97,422 TEUs. Empty containers moving through the Port declined 0.15% to 302,044 TEUs.

“Cargo volumes at the Port of Long Beach remained positive in February,” Port CEO Dr. Noel Hacegaba said during his monthly Supply Chain Insight virtual media briefing (watch below). “Despite growing uncertainty fueled by the conflict in the Middle East, cargo continues to move fluidly, planned shipments are on schedule and the Port of Long Beach remains a safe harbor in the sea of trade and geopolitical uncertainty.”

Through the first two months of the year, the Port said it has processed 1,615,290 TEUs, down 6% from the same point last year, which it noted was a “record year.”

According to Hacegaba, the Port is following developments in the Middle East and the impact of last month’s Supreme Court ruling on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, tariffs, “when the court ruled about two-thirds of tariffs imposed last year under the IEEPA unconstitutional.”

“The conflict in the Middle East has added more uncertainty to global trade and triggered broad market conditions and reactions from parties across the supply chain,” Hacegaba said. “Operations at the Port of Long Beach continue without disruption. All terminals are open and cargo continues to move fluidly.”

Long Beach Harbor Commission President Frank Colonna commented: “The Port of Long Beach continues to be a strategically important seaport in the global market and a reliable option for customers. We are ready to accept additional cargo if shippers need to pivot.”

The Port noted that about 20% of the world’s oil supply is transported through the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic has “slowed to a trickle since the conflict in Iran began.”

“The disruption at the Strait of Hormuz has already triggered a rapid rise in oil prices,” Hacegaba said. “When the price of oil goes up, the cost of shipping increases and consumers pay more at the gas pump and for many everyday goods.”

Despite the higher gas prices, Hacegaba noted, the Port has not seen any impact to cargo movement since it mainly moves goods via the trans-Pacific trade route with Asia.

He added, however, that global supply chains are interconnected. “If this conflict persists and continues to escalate, supply chains everywhere will have to navigate higher fuel and vessel operating costs and seek alternative shipping routes,” Hacegaba said.

The Port on Feb. 25 reported kicking off 2026 with its “second-busiest” January on record. Cargo volume declined 11% from January 2025—the Port’s best January and second-busiest month in its 115-year history—following a “record-setting 9.9 million TEUs moved in 2025, when uncertainty prompted shippers to move goods before tariffs and reciprocal tariffs were implemented last spring,” POLB said.

Hacegaba on Jan. 15 gave his first State of the Port address, following the retirement of Mario Cordero, and he projected that POLB will move 20 million containers annually by 2050. He noted that the $1.8 billion Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility project is on track for completion in 2032. Aimed at tripling the volume of cargo moved by on-dock rail to 4.7 million TEUs, the project will help move cargo containers from ships to trains in less than 24 hours and improve connectivity with inland destinations.

The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles in 2025 extended their agreement with Anacostia Rail Holdings’ Pacific Harbor Line to provide railroad operating and maintenance services within the San Pedro Bay ports complex. Union Pacific and BNSF move cargo in and out of the complex.

For complete POLB cargo statistics, click here.

• Rail Shippers Raise Concerns About Middle East Conflict
• Port of Los Angeles: February Cargo Volume ‘Second Best on Record’
• Port of Los Angeles: January Cargo ‘Eases’ Compared to ‘Elevated’ 2025 Levels
• POLB: Cargo Volumes ‘Steady’ Through October
• POLB Experiences Cargo Dip in September
• POLB: Second-Busiest August on Record
• POLB Releases Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility Draft Supplemental Study
• For Ports of LA, Long Beach, ‘Record’ July Cargo
• Jacobs Tapped for POLB Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility

The post POLB: ‘Cargo Up Amid War, Tariff Uncertainty’ appeared first on Railway Age.

“As the nation’s rail infrastructure ages, transit and commuter operators are experiencing critical failures related to electric propulsion power systems, putting the traveling public at risk,” the NTSB reported. “Our investigators have observed electrical arcing, fire hazards, and smoke incidents from critical failures of electric propulsion power systems that have endangered passengers and employees.”

It provided the following examples:

• “Flooding or drainage issues can expose electrical cables to water intrusion and cause cable insulation to degrade.
• “Worn contact surfaces on electrified third rails, collector shoes, or pantograph heads may cause intermittent contact, which can lead to arcing.
• “Loose or corroded electrical connectors and joints on catenary wire or third-rail systems can increase electrical resistance, which can generate excessive heat in electrical components and lead to fires, electrical shorts, or other dangers.”

According to the NTSB, recent investigations have found some electric propulsion power systems—such as third-rail systems or overhead wire catenary systems—“have merged newer technologies with legacy components, introducing new failure modes.” It noted that “[t]emporary repairs and undocumented changes to third-rail or catenary systems, as well as aging electrical component tolerances that drift over time from their original design performance criteria, can also cause critical electrical problems.” These, it said, include arcing caused by worn contact surfaces, fires resulting from degraded cable insulation, and overheating from loose or corroded electrical connectors that increase resistance. “These critical failures may not be adequately detected or mitigated by transit and commuter rail operators’ existing maintenance and inspection plans,” the NTSB reported.

The NTSB provided the following five actions that transit agencies can take:

1. “Implement reliability engineering processes. If these processes are already in place, use them to reassess safety analyses of the design of electric propulsion power systems and other critical systems, particularly as equipment ages and when temporary repairs and changes are made to third-rail or catenary systems.
2. “Ensure all measurable hazards—including those involving aging electrical infrastructure or newly introduced replacement components—are incorporated into system safety programs like safety management systems (SMS). An SMS can provide structured processes to evaluate new or modified components for potential failure modes, integrate components safely with legacy systems, and monitor the components over time so emerging risks are identified early and mitigated effectively.
3. “Be aware of electric propulsion power system failures that involve aging electrical components. Review your maintenance, testing, and inspection procedures for wayside, car-borne, and associated electrical system components. Address deficiencies identified in the review.
4. “Use system failure modes identified in records or in previous incidents to review and revise—or develop, if necessary—maintenance, inspection, and testing procedures that can detect or prevent these failures.
5. “Use technology to generate real-time trend reports so emerging safety issues can be identified early and risks can be mitigated.”

The NTSB also provided access to these related investigations:

• RRD25FR006 (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority/SEPTA)
• RRD25FR011 (Port Authority Trans Hudson Corporation/PATH)
• RRD25FR020 (Dallas Area Rapid Transit)
• RRD25FR021 (PATH)
• RRD25FR024 (SEPTA)

The post NTSB Issues ‘Rail Propulsion Power Systems’ Safety Alert appeared first on Railway Age.

Alstom has signed a five-year extension to its operations and fleet maintenance contract for the GO Transit commuter network and UP Express airport service in Toronto, Canada.

The contract, which will run until 2031, was awarded by Ontario public transport agency Metrolinx. It is worth $C1.3 billion ($947.9 million).

Alstom currently deploys nearly 1,300 staffers to operate and provide fleet maintenance for GO Transit and the UP Express service connecting Union station with Toronto Pearson International Airport. GO Transit commuter services recorded 117,020 passenger-journeys in 2024-25 and UP Express 56,494, achieving more than 97% punctuality on infrastructure shared with other operators, according to Alstom.

Alstom became a contractor to Metrolinx through the 2021 acquisition of Bombardier Transportation, which in 1997 was awarded the current contract to maintain 96 diesel locomotives, 979 double-deck cars and 18 DMUs. In 2007, Bombardier also became responsible for operations, employing drivers, conductors, and customer service staff.

Metrolinx has extended the contract with Alstom following the announcement last year of the end of its partnership with the ONxpress Operations, comprising Aecon Concessions and DB International Operations, that was due to have operated and maintained the GO Transit network under a 23-year contract starting on Jan. 1, 2025. No reason was given for terminating the agreement.

ONxpress Operations formed part of ONxpress Transportation Partners, which in 2022 was appointed by Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario to deliver the GO Expansion program that is now under way. The program includes work to increase capacity as well as electrification and resignaling with ETCS Level 1.

The post Toronto Commuter Operating Contract Extension Signed appeared first on Railway Age.