Latest news with #Hiawatha
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
St. Paul-to-Chicago Amtrak Borealis sidelined by corrosion
An inspection uncovered corrosion on several of the railcars used on the new Amtrak Borealis line from downtown St. Paul to Chicago, leading to the decision to remove them from service on Wednesday and shuttle passengers by bus in both directions. It's unclear when Amtrak will resume rail trips. Amtrak officials issued a statement Wednesday indicating they worked with the manufacturer of the Horizon railcars and 'decided to remove the equipment from service after learning of additional areas of concern from intensive inspections of multiple cars.' The decision impacts service on multiple Amtrak lines to varying degrees, including the Downeaster, Hiawatha, Borealis and Amtrak Cascades. Some trains, such as the Downeaster, will operate with fewer cars, while 'other services will be provided substitute transportation until a long-term plan is developed,' reads the statement. The Borealis runs round-trips daily between Chicago and St. Paul through Milwaukee, and Hiawatha operates daily with multiple trips between Chicago and Milwaukee. On Wednesday, about half of the Hiawatha departures were replaced by chartered buses as substitute transportation, as were departures in both directions for the Borealis. The Empire Builder service that stops in St. Paul as its travels from Seattle or Portland, Ore. to Chicago was not impacted. An Amtrak spokesperson on Wednesday said no other information was available. After years of clamoring for a second daily round-trip from Minnesota's capital city to Chicago, the Borealis launched last May. Amtrak indefinitely replacing its St. Paul-Chicago Borealis service with buses Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport upgrading snow removal equipment Could the Gold Line spur economic development? Some say it already has. Delta plane from MSP that flipped in Toronto showed high rate of descent, initial report says St. Paul-to-Woodbury Gold Line is ready to roll on dedicated lanes. Here are things to know.
Axios
26-03-2025
- Axios
Corrosion sidelines Amtrak trains on Cascades route
If you're planning to take the train between Portland, Seattle, and B.C., you'll get where you're headed — but more likely it will be by bus. Why it matters: Amtrak sidelined its Horizon car fleet Wednesday due to corrosion issues, highlighting the challenges posed by aging infrastructure and the impact on reliable passenger rail service. Driving the news: Amtrak canceled trains — but not service — on several routes, including Amtrak Cascades, opting to use buses to get people from one place to the next, Amtrak spokesperson Kelly Just told Axios. State of play: Horizon cars are used in all but one train serving the Cascades, according to Just. That's the train that runs the 503 and 508 bookend daily trips from Seattle to Eugene and back. That train, which uses Talgo cars instead of Horizon cars, is still running its regular route, Just said. By the numbers: Amtrak's Cascades route has been booming recently, with nearly 950,000 passengers using the service last year, a 41% bump from 2023, per the Bellingham Herald. What they're saying: Affected guests were being notified of the switch to bus service, Just said. "We apologize for the inconvenience, but this was something that was necessary for us to do," Just said. "It's not the train experience you were hoping for, but we will get you there." Zoom in: Amtrak offers six daily round trips between Seattle and Portland and two between Portland and Vancouver, B.C. Amtrak will continue honoring bike reservations on the bus because "traveling with a bike is important in the Northwest," Just said. Passengers who booked business class will be downgraded to coach and given a refund. Zoom out: Amtrak was forced to sideline Horizon cars on a number of other routes nationally, including the Downeaster in New England, the Hiawatha between Milwaukee and Chicago, and the Borealis, which runs between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Chicago. Some trains on those routes will operate with fewer cars; passengers on other routes will have to use "substitute transportation until a long-term plan is developed," Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari told Axios. What's next: Amtrak did not provide a timeline for repairs to the Horizon cars but told Axios that all impacted cars will have to be sent to the East Coast for repairs.
Boston Globe
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
The debate over daylight saving time
TODAY'S STARTING POINT You might wake up this weekend feeling a little tired. At 2 a.m. on Sunday, clocks across the country will jump forward by an hour as daylight saving time begins. The result will be later sunrises and an additional hour of light in the evenings. I'm decidedly not a morning person, so that trade sounds good to me (other than the lost hour of sleep). But the debate has raged ever since Congress set up the current system in 1966. Some critics favor effectively making daylight saving time — the hours we're moving to this weekend — permanent. Others would prefer year-round standard time, the hours we'll return to this fall. And still others think twice-a-year clock-switching beats the alternatives. Today's newsletter examines the pros and cons. Advertisement Daylight saving forever The case for making daylight saving time year-round has a few components. Some argue that it would boost the economy, as Americans spend their extra hour of light later in the day working, shopping, or dining out. Others note that later daylight is associated with less crime. And evidence suggests that the original purpose of daylight saving time — conserving electricity — no longer applies thanks to more efficient modern lighting. Year-round daylight saving could also make Americans healthier. Studies show that shifting the clock — both 'springing forward' in the spring and 'falling back' in the fall — Some advocates have tried to legislate a fix. For years, Senator Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, has co-sponsored a bipartisan bill to make daylight saving permanent. 'This head-spinning ritual of falling back and springing forward has gone on long enough,' he The closest that bill got to passing was in 2022, when it cleared the Senate unanimously — Advertisement Standard time year-round Others favor going the other way: permanently falling back rather than springing forward. Year-round standard time would mean earlier sunrises and sunsets. Beyond safer morning commutes and the health benefits of not disrupting circadian rhythms, some health experts argue that lighter mornings and darker evenings better match the human body's natural cycles. 'It maximizes morning light, which aligns our brains and bodies to the outside world and improves sleep and mood,' one doctor told Hiawatha. The downside revolves around just how much light and how early. Under permanent standard time, the sun would rise before 5 a.m. for months and set before 8 p.m., Still, some Americans have embraced the change. Hawaii and most of Arizona have standard time year-round, alongside Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands. What's next? But the status quo also has defenders. Splitting the year between standard time and daylight saving time offers the best of both, some say. It avoids too-early sunrises and sunsets in the summer and kids going to school in the winter darkness. Change, some add, can be its own virtue. Springing forward ' Advertisement There also isn't much public consensus about what to do. In Massachusetts, lawmakers have So no matter the arguments for or against, any local or nationwide change — in either direction — seems unlikely to happen soon. Until then, experts recommend going to bed and waking up earlier before the time change, and going outside in the mornings afterwards, That means the debate over daylight saving will drag on. Now we'll just have an extra hour to fight about it before the sun goes down. 🧩 4 Down: | 🌬️ 42° POINTS OF INTEREST Ronald Estanislao, a juror in the first Karen Read trial. Erin Clark/Globe Staff Boston and Massachusetts Falling behind: Boys and men in the state Brown season: Discolored drinking water — from manganese contamination — plagues Massachusetts communities Guilty or not: A juror in the first Karen Read trial said he kept Separately, a blogger known as 'Turtleboy,' already charged with intimidating witnesses in the Read case, Skyline snafu: A leaked invite to a private fundraiser for mayoral candidate Josh Kraft Lexington vs. Concord: The famous towns' AI's on the prize: Two AI pioneers who began their work at UMass Amherst won tech's equivalent of the Nobel Prize. ( Just keep swimming: Great whites off Cape Cod also travel up to Maine's coast, researchers Trump administration Unfrozen: A judge ordered the administration to Dodging: Trump told his cabinet that they, not Elon Musk, are in charge of staffing at their agencies. ( Punished: House Republicans, joined by 10 Democrats, voted to censure Al Green, a Texas Democrat, for interrupting Trump during his speech to Congress. ( Foregone conclusion: The Trump administration accused Maine of breaking federal law by letting transgender athletes play girls sports. ( Skipping town: The US Small Business Administration will The room where it doesn't happen: The musical 'Hamilton' canceled a planned run at the Kennedy Center in Washington after Trump took over the arts institution last month. ( The Nation and the World Advertisement Measles update: An unvaccinated person in New Mexico tested positive for the virus after their death. An outbreak is ongoing in nearby West Texas. ( Turnabout: California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, called transgender athletes competing in female sports 'deeply unfair' on an episode of his podcast that featured Charlie Kirk, a staunch Trump supporter. ( Smoke rises: Vaping is climbing in popularity faster than cigarette smokers are quitting, CDC data shows. Tobacco use remains the country's leading cause of preventable death. ( Game, set, mat: Saudi Arabia is funding a maternity program for professional women's tennis players that includes parental support and grants for IVF. ( Accidental bombing: Two South Korean fighter jets mistakenly bombed a village during a drill, injuring at least 15 people. ( He speaks : Pope Francis, weak and breathless, thanked people for their prayers in an audio message recorded at the hospital where he's recovering from pneumonia. ( BESIDE THE POINT 🗓️ For your calendar: From stellar concerts to bustling book sales, don't miss these 📽️ 'If you wreck it, they will leave': This new baseball movie is ✈️ Pack your bags: An Icelandair survey named Boston as the 🌝 Little lunar lander: This thumb-size moon robot from MIT ❤️ Love Letters: Distance is making this lover's heart ✏️ Drawing attention: These architectural sketches, on display at the Athenaeum, show 🏒 Slipping and sliding: Private money has taken over boys' hockey in Massachusetts, creating 📧 Want this sent to your inbox? Ian Prasad Philbrick can be reached at
