Federal rail funding
Train Time news roundup for 7 February 2025
There’s lots of news out of Washington DC and you may have wondered what all this means for rail service and rail funding. This post is composed of links to relevant articles, using gift links whenever possible. We aim to send out regular posts like this from now on.
Keep in mind that this list is focused on federal funding, not state funding. But in almost any rail project, federal dollars are an essential part of the budget and Amtrak itself is a federally funded corporation.
Norfolk Southern seeks to dismiss a lawsuit that alleged it delays Amtrak trains (Marketplace) The lawsuit alleges “that Norfolk Southern routinely failed to give Amtrak passenger trains preference over freight trains, which is required by law.”
Newly appointed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy writes that preference should be given to funding projects that are located in “communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average.” (Trains.org)
The Trump Administration's Expected Impact on US Rail (Holland & Knight)
California bullet train faces a Trump-sized derailment (Fresno Bee)
And of general interest, both in terms of New York and the long-proposed North South Rail Link in Boston:
What Does ‘Through-Running’ Mean in New York? (Railway Age)
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