Train

Amtrak's Empire Builder passenger train was delayed 77 minutes after it struck a boulder 10 miles west of Detroit Lakes early Tuesday. A fuel tank on the leading engine was ruptured but no one aboard the train was injured, officials said.

If you’ve been longing for your iPhone to help you ride the rails across Europe , your app may have arrived. Rail Europe’s new free app for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad helps travelers choose a route, select seats and book tickets on 35 European railways in 32 countries,  including Britain, France, Italy and the Netherlands.  The app asks whether you are already in Europe because if you are in North America, you’ll be...

A bomb exploded in a crowded Budapest subway, but no one was injured, Hungarian news reports said Saturday.

What a great, descriptive article Chris Erskine has written ["Polar Express," July 20]. I've been a fan of his Man of the House weekly columns in Home, but this article makes me want to get off my duff and take that train ride. David Graham Los Angeles

Two commuter trains collided and derailed during the evening rush hour outside Boston, trapping and killing the operator of one train and injuring about 10 passengers, authorities said. Investigators did not know what caused the wreck. The crash came hours after an elevated train derailed in Chicago, injuring 14 people, none seriously. Officials blamed that wreck on operator error.

A man who was killed Tuesday night when he walked in front of an oncoming Amtrak train has been identified, authorities said. Ray Bustos Hernandez, 57, of Anaheim was pronounced dead at the scene of the 8:18 p.m. accident at Pauline and Sycamore streets. Amtrak spokesman Bruce Heard said Hernandez was walking along the track and "then crossed the tracks immediately as the train approached."

A grand jury is expected to determine whether charges should be filed in the Nov. 15 train crash in Midland, Texas, that killed four wounded veterans riding a parade float. Investigators are still picking through the particulars of what happened during the accident, which saw a Union Pacific train plow into a flatbed trailer carrying veterans and their wives to an honorary banquet. Five other people were seriously hurt. The driver of the truck that was pulling the trailer, Dale Andrew Hayden -- a veteran himself, who is suspected of driving onto the train tracks while crossing warnings were going off -- still has not been interviewed by National Transportation Safety Board investigators, board spokesman Peter Knudson told the Los Angeles Times on Thursday.

I have been remiss in not responding to Sergio Ortiz's wonderful article on Seville, Spain ("Stirring the Senses in Seville," Oct. 28). Your readers should know that train travel between Seville and Madrid is not always a question of an eight-hour trip versus a one-hour flight; there is a wonderful 2 1/2-hour rail trip on the high-speed (286 mph) AVE train. Schedules and prices are available at www.raileurope.com. BARBARA HEARN Rail Europe Los Angeles

Carter C. Bravmann's Oct. 2 letter is yet another example of the failure of people concerned with mass transportation to think holistically. Certainly, the train is faster. But if you live five miles from the train and two blocks from the bus, then what is the time differential? Not everyone has the choice he makes for himself. At current costs, the transit agency can buy more than 1,000 buses for every mile of subway. What a transportation network those buses could make! ROBERT SPIES Santa Monica

In writing of the delights of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley (Jan. 28), Beverly Beyer and Ed Rabey once again neglect the train as a means of arriving at a delightful destination in a delightful way. Amtrak's Cardinal provides several access points to the Shenandoah Valley. Those who avail themselves of the Cardinal will witness the most beautiful U.S. scenery east of the Rockies. TOM BROWN Santa Ana