BNSF and J.B. Hunt say Quantum intermodal service is delivering growth

NEW YORK — The Quantum intermodal service that BNSF Railway and J.B. Hunt launched in November — specifically aimed at loads that have never touched rails before — is providing 99% door-to-door on-time performance and is gaining volume, executives said today. “This is true highway conversion. It’s not intended to be a different service level […]

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Amtrak Borealis makes debut

Passenger train running along river with city in distance

ST. PAUL, Minn. — It was 43 years in the making, but the Chicago-Twin Cities corridor finally has a second Amtrak passenger train. In ceremonies in Chicago, St. Paul and intermediate points today, Amtrak and state, local, and federal official marked the first run of the Borealis, new daily service between Chicago Union Station and […]

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A rebuttal: Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena on one-person crews

Well, I put a bee in Jim Vena’s bonnet when I wrote that railroads should thank the Federal Railroad Administration for its new two-person train crew rule. The thrust of that column last month: Service would suffer if the Class I railroads were to go to engineer-only operation because of delays related to having ground-based […]

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Remembering passenger train crusader Tony Haswell

Black-and-white 1970s head shot of man with glasses

Anyone who lived through the late 1960s and cared about railroading knew that the future of the intercity passenger train was bleak, so long as it was in the hands of private companies mostly interested in exclusively hauling freight. After more than a decade’s worth of relentless abandonment and downgrading of service, it seemed only […]

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Viewliner diner serving ‘flexible’ meals to be added to Crescent June 1: Analysis

Passengers eating in dining car

WASHINGTON — Beginning June 1, Amtrak plans to restore a dining car to the New York-New Orleans Crescent. However, initially only sleeping car passengers will be allowed to use it, and the food served will continue to be reheated “flexible” meals. As reported in the Rail Passengers Association’s weekly Hotline email, Amtrak senior leadership confirmed […]

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VIA to retire Renaissance equipment from corridor operations

VIA Passenger train with British-built cars, with light-rail train in background

MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada will retire its British-built Renaissance equipment from Quebec City-Windsor, Ontario, corridor service on Sunday, May 26, the passenger operator has confirmed. The last train to use the Renaissance cars will be Ottawa-bound train No. 37, departing Quebec City at 12:32 p.m. When the train arrives in Montreal at 3:54 p.m., […]

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NTSB releases preliminary report on April BNSF derailment that closed I-40

Aerial view of derailment with burning tank cars

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report on the April 26 derailment of a BNSF Railway train near the Arizona-New Mexico state line — an incident that led to a breach of tank cars carrying propane and fire that closed Interstate 40. No one was injured in the incident. Interstate […]

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Communication error led to Union Pacific yard fatality, NTSB determines

Aerial view of two derailed freight cars

WASHINGTON — A communication breakdown over granting permission for a train movement into the yard, as well as regarding placement of a portable derail device, was the probable cause of the August 2022 fatality of a Union Pacific conductor at a yard in El Paso, Texas, the National Transportation Safety Board determined in its final […]

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