OmniTRAX named operator of Long Island transload center

YAPHANK, N.Y. — OmniTRAX has been named the rail operator of Brookhaven Rail Terminal on Long Island, N.Y. The terminal, recently rebranded as Long Island Reload, serves commodities, aggregates, and building materials industry customers including The Home Depot, Heidelberg, and LBM Riverhead. “Long Island plays a critical role in northeast supply chains, and we are […]

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BNSF officially opens Salt Lake City intermodal terminal

SALT LAKE CITY — BNSF Railway, Patriot Rail, and the Utah Inland Port Authority held a grand opening ceremony on Thursday for the Class I railroad’s new intermodal facility in Salt Lake City. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, legislative leaders, and public-private partners gathered to celebrate the milestone with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. “This new facility is […]

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Metra to cancel four trains on UP Northwest line for extensive tie-replacement project beginning Aug. 4

Commuter train arrives at station

CHICAGO — Metra will cancel four weekday, midday trains on its Union Pacific Northwest line for almost two months, and is advising passengers to expect delays of 10 to 30 minutes on all other trains, as UP undertakes a major maintenance-of-way project beginning Monday, Aug. 4. UP is planning tie replacement on all three tracks […]

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Monongahela monstrosity

Monongahela monstrosity

Pittsburgh & West Virginia’s Connellsville, Pa., line was rife with major bridges. Biggest of all was this colossal crossing of the Monongahela River, seen in March 1950 supporting a 2-6-6-4 and freight 99. The three main spans had a lower level for the Monessen Southwestern, but it never used them. Ralph E. Hallock photo […]

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Amtrak, Union Pacific reach settlement in Sunset Limited case (updated)

Passenger train stopped at station platform under blue skies

WASHINGTON — Amtrak and Union Pacific have reached a settlement in their dispute over performance of the Sunset Limited and have asked the Surface Transportation Board to end its investigation into the train’s handling. An Amtrak filing on Thursday, July 31, asks that the STB case — the first of its kind regarding host-railroad handling […]

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Numbers-heavy Amtrak public board meeting reveals gains, challenges: Analysis

Streamlined blue and white high-speed passenger train crosses bridge

WASHINGTON — An on-line-only public Amtrak board of directors meeting today (July 31, 2025) lasted only 45 minutes and concluded with a flashy video embedded in a PowerPoint presentation extolling the virtues of the company’s long-awaited Next Generation Acela trainsets. But no date for its Northeast Corridor revenue service introduction was announced. Amtrak president Roger […]

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Report: CSX talks with investment bank about merger options

CSX locomotives with Family Lines paint scheme

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX has declined to comment on a Bloomberg report that it has engaged Goldman Sachs to advise it about potential merger options. Today’s news comes in the wake of this week’s announcement that Union Pacific will acquire Norfolk Southern in an $85 billion deal that would create the first transcontinental railroad. Industry […]

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Influential shipper group: No rail mergers without better service, pricing, and competition

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Industrial Transportation League said today that rail shippers will not support a transcontinental railroad merger unless it’s accompanied by improvements in service, pricing, and competition. “Despite the promises that rail customers would benefit from mergers through more efficient service, in reality captive rail customers must pay increasingly higher prices for […]

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Amtrak names Corneanu as chief financial officer

Man in blue suit

WASHINGTON — Costin Corneanu has been named as Amtrak’s executive vice president, chief financial officer, effective Aug. 4. The Amtrak board approved the appointment today (July 31, 2025). Corneanu will succeed Tracie Winbigler, who will retire on Jan. 1, 2026. Until then, she will remain in her executive vice president role as chief transformation officer. […]

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Iowa Interstate, county partner on new rail industrial park in Newton, Iowa

NEWTON, Iowa — Iowa Interstate Railroad and Jasper County, Iowa, on Wednesday announced the launch of the Newton Rail Park, a 367-acre industrial park to feature biofuel and manufacturing industries and offering rail-related logistics. The public-private partnership between the railroad and county has invested $10 million in property acquisition and infrastructure planning, reports the Business […]

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Activist investor may target CSX, citing slumping financial performance

Intermodal train passing through steel girder bridge

Ancora Holdings, the activist investor that waged a proxy battle for control of a beleaguered Norfolk Southern in 2024, now may have CSX in its crosshairs. “We’ve been a growing shareholder in CSX and I think that company finds itself at the crossroads … of whether it wants to find a merger partner or whether […]

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