Passengers can purchase an upgrade to Priority Vehicle Offloading and their vehicle will be one of the first 20 offloaded from the train. Vehicle counts can total 200-300 per train.

This new service will help passengers get to their destination sooner. Priority Vehicle Offloading can be purchased now and is available for travel beginning April 29. For a $50 fee, Priority Vehicle Offloading
is available by calling 877-SKIP-I-95 or for purchase at any staffed station.

This upgrade can be added to existing and online reservations by calling or visiting an Amtrak Ticket Office. Priority Vehicle Offloading is limited to automobiles, vans, SUV’s and trailers. Motorcycles are not eligible for this new upgrade.

“With this upgrade option, we hope to improve the service experience for select Auto Train passengers by reducing the amount of time spent waiting for their vehicle,” said Brian Rosenwald, Amtrak’s chief of product development.

“We have pushed the current NEC infrastructure about as far as it can go, but the end of demand and growth is nowhere in sight. A new model for investment is needed. If we do not obtain one, the outlook for the system’s capacity and condition is grim,” he said.

Boardman explained that when Amtrak took over the NEC in 1976, it was in a deplorable state of disrepair and required major investment. To the address the situation, the Federal Railroad Administration, Congress and Amtrak invested about $4 billion from 1976 to 1998, transforming the NEC from a rundown mid-century railroad into a modern, electrified, high-speed line capable of handling more than 2,200 trains per day and speeds up to 150 mph.

Even with that investment, the NEC today depends on major components built from 1900 to 1930 – particularly the electrical system and the bridges – that need to be replaced and many segments are operating at or near maximum capacity, Amtrak officials contend.

RCMP said they disrupted the threat early. While the RCMP believed that these individuals had the capacity and intent to carry out these criminal acts, there was no imminent threat to the general public, rail employees, train passengers or infrastructure.

The two accused, Chiheb Esseghaier and Raed Jaser, who live in the Montreal and Toronto area were conspiring to carry out a terrorist attack against a VIA passenger train. Charges include conspiring to carry out an attack against, and conspiring to murder persons unknown for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a terrorist group.

The RCMP investigation named Project SMOOTH, was coordinated by RCMP-led Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams (INSETs) in Montreal and Toronto with the close collaboration of domestic partners and the FBI.

“Each and every terrorist arrest the RCMP makes sends a message and illustrates our strong resolve to root out terrorist threats and keep Canadians and our allies safe,” Assistant Commissioner James Malizia, responsible for Federal Policing Operations, said in a statement. “A meaningful response to these threats begins on Canadian streets and in Canadians homes and the RCMP works with all their partners, including communities across Canada, in the fight against terrorism.”

The accused have been charged under sections 248, 235 (1), 83.2, 83.18, 83.21 of the Criminal Code of Canada, police said.

LAGOS-KANO RAILWAY — For the first time in a decade, Nigeria is operating a train line that links the north and south of the country, which is Africa’s most populous nation. The 1,100-kilometer trip from Lagos in the south to the northern city of Kano is an adventure that provides a window into the nation.

The train departs from Lagos – Nigeria’s largest city – every Friday at noon, or thereabouts. When we arrive at the station at 9 a.m., the ticket lines already are thick.

When the journey begins, passengers sitting everywhere from the economy class to the private cabins appear eager about seeing Nigeria by train. Tickets cost between $12 and $30, and passenger Aisha Muhammad Shuaib said it’s cheaper than the bus and much safer than the roads.

“You know the roads are bad, sometimes armed robbers. That’s why I’m fearing the road. Because it happens to me. When I was coming from Kano to Lagos, I take the same bus with armed robbers. You can imagine? Eight armed robbers on the bus when we were heading to Lagos,” said Shuaib.

Few amenities

As we make our way out of town, passengers watch the tropical southern countryside pass by. In the first-class car and private cabins, however, there is no air conditioning.

At every station-stop, locals hawk sodas, bags of water, nuts and fruit.

There are no stairs to board the train and no conductors yelling “All aboard.” When the train starts moving, passengers scramble on.

The train usually moves much slower than the promised maximum speed of 50 kilometers an hour.

By nightfall we were still in the south.

Filled to capacity

The next morning the scenery has changed, and we are in the arid north.

Despite the progress, the mood has darkened in the economy cabins. At every stop overnight, more and more passengers crammed in.

“I’ve been standing for five hours. Some of us have been standing for eight hours now,” said passenger Jimoh Kolawoe.

And as day two wears on, it only gets worse. By afternoon, the coach cabins are so packed that every bit of floor space is taken and luggage is piled in the bathrooms.

We reach Kaduna about 6 o’clock – the time we were expecting to arrive in Kano, about 200 kilometers away. Security warns us we are now in a region known for violence.

“Kano is one of the most security dangerous areas and we need to be on our toes. We are on our optimum vigilance. As we go to Kano we watch out for every passenger that comes in,” said Benjamin Aletofa, one of those who provides train security.

Around 1:30 in the morning the train finally rolls into the dark Kano train station. After 37-and-a-half hours, in a city officials say is now the heart of the Boko Haram insurgency, the exhausted passengers hit the road quickly.

Back on the train, staffers prepare for the ride back across Nigeria.

– Heather Murdock, Voice of America

The projects will prepare the Green Line to handle an increase in passengers related to the five-month reconstruction of the Red Line South beginning in May, and will benefit Green Line customers for the long term with increased service reliability and fewer delays.

Improvements that have been made or will be completed by May include improvements and temporary expansion of two Green Line stations, Garfield and Ashland/63rd, and significant track and signal work beginning south of Roosevelt at several locations along the Green Line that will eliminate emerging slow zones that could impact and reduce travel times.

The improvements will enable Green Line tracks and stations to accommodate additional trains during the Red Line South reconstruction—a $425 million initiative that will completely rebuild the Red Line between Cermak/Chinatown and 95th Street over a five-month period beginning May 19. Because the Red Line South project will require a five-month shutdown of that section of the Red Line, Red Line trains will run on elevated Green Line tracks between Ashland/63rd and Roosevelt. CTA will provide free shuttle buses that will transport customers from four Red Line stations south of 63rd Street to Garfield Green Line station.

“The Green Line trackwork we’re doing in preparation for the Red Line reconstruction project has already begun improving our Green Line customers’ travel experience,” said CTA President Forrest Claypool. “We are always looking to reduce travel times and improve service, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

As part of its strategic plan, Momentum, the model station will enable Metro to test several design concepts in a single station, with improved lighting, better information and improved customer convenience.

As an underground station with a center platform design, Bethesda represents the hardest type of station to illuminate, making it an ideal location for the “model station” pilot.

Some of the concepts being considered include high-output light fixtures to direct light to the vault ceiling; a new, anti-slip zone located at the bottom of the entrance escalators to serve as a transition between the escalators and station tiles; and new, redesigned, taller pylons with wayfinding signage, real-time arrival information and additional lighting located on four wings extending from the top of each pylon.

Rebounding strongly from service disruptions caused by Superstorm Sandy and other severe weather, Amtrak ridership grew 0.9 percent in the first six months of FY 2013 as compared to the same period the prior year. In all, 26 of 45 routes posted ridership increases and Amtrak expects to end the fiscal year at or above last year’s record of 31.2 million passengers.

“The continued ridership growth on routes across the country reinforces the need for dedicated, multi-year federal operating and capital funding to support existing intercity passenger rail services and the development of new ones,” said Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman .

Northeast Corridor ridership took a significant hit from Superstorm Sandy, is seeing a solid recovery and is predicted to show gains for the full fiscal year despite being down 1.2 percent for this six-month period. Ridership on state-supported and other short distance routes is up 2.7 percent and long-distance ridership grew 0.5 percent.

Routes with notable ridership growth in the first six months of FY 2013 include: Palmetto (+10.5 percent), Coast Starlight (+10 percent), Illini/Saluki (+9.8 percent), San Joaquin (+8.9 percent), Piedmont (+8.6 percent), Wolverine (+8.2 percent), Vermonter (+6.7 percent), Carolinian (+6.3 percent), Keystone Service (+5.2 percent), Springfield Shuttles (+5.2 percent), Downeaster (+4.8 percent), Pacific Surfliner (+4.3 percent), and Pennsylvanian (+4.3 percent).

Beginning Friday April 5th when the Final Four events began until after the championship game on Monday, April 8th, MARTA saw an estimated 78 percent increase in rail ridership. During that period, there were about 1,140,000 total rail passenger boardings; about 500,000 more than on average days when no such events are taking place.

Passenger boardings include rail-to-rail transfers which are not counted by MARTA’s Breeze farecard system. These boardings generally add about 30 percent to the total, MARTA said.

In addition to the college basketball tournament, MARTA was also the transportation choice for thousands of others who flocked into the city to attend free concerts and to watch the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks who were playing home games. In preparation for the crowds, MARTA added extra buses and trains as well as redeployed police officers and station attendants.

Due to the extraordinary number of customers on the system, however, there were reports of long lines at some stations and unexpectedly long waits, indicating there’s room for improvement.

“We did a good job getting customers where they were going safely,” said Keith T. Parker, MARTA’s GM/CEO. “These are the kinds of large-scale events that really test our mettle and, most important, help us find ways we can do a better job of serving all of our customers every single day.”

While such a diet might be hazardous to the health of most, The Grand Canyon Railway (GCR) is using recycled waste vegetable oil as fuel on Locomotive No. 4960, a steam engine built in 1923. Beginning this May on the first Saturday of every month through September, all are welcome aboard for a memorable ride on the new-fangled steam engine for a 65-mile journey from Williams, Arizona to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

The GCR is one of a few passenger railroads in the U.S. to service a restored steam engine for long trips and the first in the U.S. to utilize waste vegetable oil to power it.

But the memorable experience of riding an 18th century invention in modern days almost didn’t happen. In 2008, the GCR put its stable of historic iron horses out to pasture due to environmental concerns about pollution while traveling to Grand Canyon National Park.

Inspired by the innovation of carmakers to run vehicles on waste vegetable oil, GCR General Manager Bob Baker and Chief Mechanical Officer Sam Lanter decided to apply the sustainable measure to a steam engine. Not only did it work, but it worked so well that the 90-year-old steam engine galloped along carbon-neutral on the Grand Canyon Railway and thus released fewer emissions than a diesel engine used today and became a green machine. The water used in the boilers are also earth-friendly; boilers contain reclaimed rain and snow melt collected during the winter and Northern Arizona’s rainy season for steam. The GCR is the first tourism railway in the US to receive ISO 14001 third-party certification of its environmental management system.

Xanterra owns and operates the Grand Canyon Railway as well as restaurants and lodges in several National Parks. In addition to Locomotive No. 4960, GCR offers daily trips aboard its duel-efficient diesel trains at 9:30 a.m. starting at $75 for adults and $45 for children ages 15 and younger. Trip highlights include a Wild West shootout at the 1908 Williams Depot prior to the morning departure, entertainment and live action aboard the train.

Last year the company successfully withstood a significant drop in its coal business by making quick adjustments in its operations and focusing on the mainstays of safety, service and productivity.

“Experience has shown that when CSX does those things well, we can turn good conditions into great results, or bad conditions into better results,” Ward said, noting that employees led the major U.S. freight railroads in safety last year, drove customer satisfaction levels to all-time highs and delivered productivity savings of nearly $200 million.

Looking forward, the company believes that its key businesses other than coal will outpace the slow, steady growth that is expected in the economy in 2013, Ward said, and there is little reason the economy cannot gain momentum if Congress is able to pass more meaningful legislation to improve the long-term fiscal outlook and restore confidence.

“Our customers across many industries believe that America is primed for real recovery, and so do we,” Ward said.