SIEMENS confirmed on April 18 that the first SC-44 Charger diesel-electric passenger locomotives for California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will begin revenue testing on the Sacramento - Oakland - San Jose Capitol Corridor before the end of the month.

A Siemens SC-44 Charger locomotive has arrived in the US state of Washington for certification testing on Amtrak’s Cascades Corridor, which links Eugene with Portland, Seattle and Vancouver.

THE appointment of Mr Wick Moorman as president and CEO of Amtrak last September was greeted with enthusiasm from across the North American railway industry, bringing more than 40 years of railway experience and an intimate understanding of the freight carriers to the top job in US passenger rail.

THE US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced on December 16 that it has agreed a $US 499.4m federal to help fund Fort Worth Transportation Authority’s (FWTA) $US 1bn TEX Rail project.

AMTRAK achieved a record for unaudited ticket sales for the 2016 fiscal year, which ended on September 30, of $US 2.14bn which is $US 12m more than in 2015.

NEW YORK state governor Mr Andrew Cuomo unveiled plans on September 27 for a $US 1.6bn project to redevelop the James A Farley post office as New York City’s future hub for Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) services, replacing cramped and inadequate facilities at the adjacent Pennsylvania station.

AMTRAK announced on August 26 that it has awarded Alstom a contract to supply 28 high-speed trains for the Washington DC - New York - Boston Northeast Corridor (NEC), which will replace the existing Acela fleet and provide additional capacity on the 730km route.

AMTRAK, the US long-distance passenger train operator, has appointed Mr Wick Moorman to succeed Mr Joe Boardman as president and CEO with effect from September 1.

THE US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has determined that the driver of a Washington DC - New York Amtrak Northeast Regional train which derailed near Philadelphia on May 12 2015 was likely to have been distracted by radio traffic causing him to forget where he was.