Buttigieg, Transportation Secretary nominee, faced local rail issues as South Bend mayor
Pete Buttigieg – nominated by president-elect Joe Biden to lead the U.S. Department of Transportation – will bring experience with rail issues at the local level to his new post. Buttigieg served for eight years as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, a city served by two busy freight railroads, Amtrak, and commuter rail to Chicago. Buttigieg supported a project to add 16.9 miles of double track to the South Shore Line from Gary to Michigan City. The project received a $50.6 million federal grant in August. [trains.com]
Montreal’s REM plans major commuter rail extension
The Réseau Express Métropolitain (REM) and CDPQ Infra have announced a much-anticipated extension of the REM network on Montreal Island. With 32 km (20 mi) of rail and 23 stations, the new REM de l’Est aims to “meet a historic demand in Montréal’s east end,” according to an official statement. The REM de l’Est will begin at Robert-Bourassa and extend as far east as Pointe-Aux-Tremble and as far north as Cégep Marie-Victorin. The Quebec government has invested $10 billion into the project. [mtlblog.com]
Ushering in the next generation: Amtrak prepares to introduce its trainsets of the future
Dismal ridership, service suspensions, layoffs and revenue dips have colored Amtrak’s story in very dark hues since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in North America earlier this year. Still, not all of the goals set by the nation’s intercity passenger railroad have been lost. Amtrak has been keeping one of its biggest priorities and modernizations on track this year: the introduction of next-generation Acela trainsets into revenue service on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) by 2021’s end. [progressiverailroading.com]
Cumbres & Toltec to convert locomotive to oil firing
New Mexico’s Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad will convert one of its locomotives to oil firing, a move the railroad says is to “ensure it is prepared to safely function in a continually evolving operating environment.” The conversion of a 1925 Baldwin locomotive, from coal to oil, to be completed in time for the 2021 operating season, is a rare break from the railroad’s careful preservation of historic narrow gauge locomotives that have always been coal-fired. [trains.com]
