It’s Full Steam–and Diesel–Ahead at White Pass & Yukon
It’s been a busy year at the White Pass & Yukon Route, the narrow-gauge tourist railroad that climbs a glacier-bound route from Skagway, Alaska, to the Yukon. An ongoing program of expansion and improvements includes new track, infrastructure, and rolling stock and a rehabbed Baldwin steam engine. [railwayage.com]
OKC-to-Tulsa passenger rail service falls through
Hopes for passenger rail service linking the Oklahoma City and Tulsa areas suffered a major setback Monday. Stillwater Central Railroad has failed to meet an August deadline for establishing a six-month pilot program to provide daily passenger rail service between Del City and Sapulpa. [tulsaworld.com]
High-speed trains to nowhere: Australia’s long-running rail fail
Australian politicians have been talking about it for decades, yet high-speed rail or even fast rail still seem a distant pipe dream. Despite well over one-hundred million dollars having been spent on high-speed rail investigations, not one kilometer of corridor has been reserved. [theguardian.com]
Europe: Plastic Bottles Can Now Be Recycled in Exchange for Train Fare on the Rome Metro
Backpacking through Rome, Italy, and don’t have enough money for the metro? No worries — the Italian city is currently trialing a program called “Ricicli + Viaggi,” which means Recycle + Travel. At three metro stations around Rome, riders can now deposit plastic bottles for metro credit. [greenmatters.com]
