As coal declines, BNSF and UP have no plans to remove capacity in Powder River Basin — yet

With their Powder River Basin coal volumes down by more than 22% this year — and 58% below the peak of 2008 — is it time for BNSF Railway and Union Pacific to consider rationalizing capacity on their primary coal-hauling routes? Not yet, the railroads say. In the heart of the Wyoming coal fields, BNSF […]

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Switzerland’s Gotthard Base Tunnel resumes full operation

Red and white passenger train at tunnel portal

POLLEGGIO, Switzerland — More than a year after a freight train derailment inflicted extensive damage, the Gotthard Base Tunnel — the world’s longest rail tunnel — fully resumed regular operations today, ending an extensive, and expensive, period of repairs and reroutes for one of Europe’s main north-south rail arteries. For the first time since August […]

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Amtrak still falling short in capturing U.S. travel demand: Analysis

Train with Amtrak Midwest locomotive and Superliner cars passing small-town station

As summer transitions to fall, travelers seeking to use Amtrak are faced with a continuation of periodic sellouts and high fares on long-distance routes and many corridors. In the face of growing year-round demand, the company has yet to expedite restoration efforts that would capture additional ridership and revenue. Transportation Security Administration officials have projected […]

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Government seeks comment on proposed land sale for BNSF Barstow project

Rendering of large intermodal terminal

BARSTOW, Calif. — The federal government is seeking comment on a proposed sale of land to BNSF Railway as part of the railroad’s planned Barstow International Gateway project. The Victorville Daily Press reports the Bureau of Land Management published a Notice of Realty Action in the Federal Register on Wednesday, Aug. 28, on the proposed […]

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Residents seek to fight BNSF plan for Phoenix-area logistics hub

Plan for BNSF logistics center in Arizona

WITTMANN, Ariz. — Residents of the unincorporated communities of Wittmann and Circle City say they oppose BNSF Railway’s efforts to build a new intermodal and carload logistics hub northwest of Phoenix. BNSF said earlier this year it would build the project on more than 4,300 acres in northwest Maricopa County, 36 rail miles from downtown […]

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Sharks on the Monongahela

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Two Baldwin RF16 “Sharknose” diesels of the Monongahela Railroad lug a train of empty coal hoppers along the carrier’s namesake river at Alicia, Pa., in the late 1960s. The ex-New York Central units later went to the Delaware & Hudson and for decades have been privately owned and stored at Escanaba, Mich. David H. Hamley […]

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NTSB determines probable cause of fatal UP collision near Salton Sea in Southern California

WASHINGTON — The probable cause of a fatal September 2022 collision on Union Pacific’s Sunset Route was the routing of an intermodal train into a passing siding that was occupied by 74 empty intermodal cars, a move that was made possible by the inappropriate removal of a computer-aided dispatching system block on the siding, the […]

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CN renames Woodcrest Shops in honor of two-time COO Ed Harris

HOMEWOOD, Ill. — Canadian National has named its Woodcrest Shops after former Chief Operating Officer Ed Harris, who began his railroad career at the Illinois Central facility outside Chicago. “We were thrilled to welcome recently retired CN COO and railroading veteran Ed Harris back for a very special visit and surprise, as we renamed our […]

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Santa Fe’s celebrity PAs

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Alco and Santa Fe pulled out all the stops when the road bought the first of the builder’s 2,000 h.p. postwar passenger diesels that came to be known as “PAs” (and “PBs” for booster units). Carrying ATSF road number 51, the brand-new three-unit locomotive heads a train down California’s Cajon Pass in October 1946. Santa […]

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Virginia, Norfolk Southern greenlight Manassas line purchase, extension to Christiansburg, Va

Train at station platform at night

RICHMOND, Va. —The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority board of directors has approved a recently negotiated plan with Norfolk Southern to acquire the railroad’s former Southern Railway route out of Alexandria, Va., to Manassas, Va., and gain Amtrak train access to the NS main line beyond Roanoke, Va., to Christiansburg, Va. In a press release, the […]

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