FRA awards $326 million in grants to 45 rail projects NEWSWIRE

FRA

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today announced the recipients of more than $326 million in grant funds under the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program and the Special Transportation Circumstances Program, for a wide variety of state and local railroad infrastructure projects. The grants will fund 45 […]

Read More…

Louisville & Indiana to serve malting plant it encouraged to move on line NEWSWIRE

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — Distribution of malted grain for the distillery and brewing industries in the northern Kentucky region will expand dramatically with a new 33-railcar transload facility developed by Louisville & Indiana Railroad and Great Western Malting Co. The opening, planned for June 13, will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the rail-to-truck transfer site, which […]

Read More…

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern drop more joint intermodal service NEWSWIRE

UPlogo

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern have announced tweaks to their interline intermodal service in the wake of major changes made earlier this year that dropped nearly 500 low-volume lanes. The latest moves, which take effect on July 1, follow the same theme: Favoring high-density routes that support steel wheel interchange in Chicago and Memphis. This […]

Read More…

Supreme Court declines AAR request on Amtrak performance standards (updated) NEWSWIRE

Trains_Washington_Watch

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined a request from the Association of American Railroads to review a lower-court ruling regarding the authority of Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration to establish on-time performance metrics and standards for Amtrak operation on host freight railroads. The convoluted legal history of the case has seen a […]

Read More…

Canadian Pacific wins more Vancouver international intermodal traffic (updated) NEWSWIRE

CPLOGO

CALGARY, Alberta — For the second year in a row, Canadian Pacific has pulled an international intermodal contract away from rival Canadian National.   CP today announced that it would begin hauling Yang Ming Marine Transport’s containers at the Port of Vancouver, British Columbia, effective Jan. 1, 2020. The contract with the Taiwan-based steamship line […]

Read More…

UPDATE: Proposed Mexico tariffs would eventually affect cross-border rail traffic NEWSWIRE

BNSF Railway Eagle Pass to Mexico rail

With a Canadian National unit in the lead, a northbound BNSF Railway train crosses the international bridge over the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass, Texas, in May 2019. Bill Stephens WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s proposal to hit Mexican imports with tariffs beginning next month could eventually hurt cross-border rail traffic that has been a […]

Read More…

AAR: US carload and intermodal traffic mostly down week of May 25 NEWSWIRE

May25table

Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending May 25. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 527,966 carloads and intermodal units, down 6.7 percent compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending May 25 were […]

Read More…

AAR: Carload traffic mixed for the week of May 18; crude oil still running high NEWSWIRE

Association of American Railroads May 18 week of traffic

Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending May 18. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 536,358 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.8% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending May 18 were 267,006 […]

Read More…

Ask Trains: Why do certain locomotives have reporting marks for different railroads?

BNSF Railway SD9 GN reporting marks, Scott A. Hartley photo

What appears to be an Omaha Orange and Pullman Green Great Northern Railway EMD SD9 in 2017 actually is a BNSF Railway unit that had been built in 1959 for Chicago, Burlintgon & Quincy subsidiary Colorado & Southern. For several years, BNSF has assigned Great Northern “GN” reporting marks to some older diesels generally assigned […]

Read More…

AAR: metals and minerals traffic dip by double-digits; crude oil continues climb NEWSWIRE

May11Table

Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending May 11, 2019. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 529,263 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.7% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending May 11 […]

Read More…

North Dakota, Washington state spar over crude-by-rail law NEWSWIRE

Oil_Train_LLassen

A BNSF oil train heads west through the Columbia Gorge in Washington. Washington state and North Dakota are sparring over a Washington law that would block the transport of Bakken oil by rail. Lance Lassen OLYMPIA, Wash. — The legislative debate over a Washington law limiting crude oil shipments by rail from North Dakota’s Bakken […]

Read More…

CSX, NS demurrage charges threaten future of small lumber company NEWSWIRE

csxtomorrow

WASHINGTON — CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern say their higher demurrage charges will encourage shippers to load and unload freight cars more quickly, which will reduce the number of cars online, make their networks more fluid, and ultimately improve service. But a mom-and-pop lumber yard in southern New Jersey says the charges are diverting freight […]

Read More…