LONDON — The British election last week resulted in a landslide win for the previous opposition Labour Party, which won 411 seats, with the former Conservative government reduced to 121 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons. The new government has pledged to make some big changes to Britain’s railways, although in some ways the […]
Class I railroads’ volume trends in the second quarter varied considerably, with Norfolk Southern traffic up 5.1% and Canadian Pacific Kansas City down 4.2%, according to the railroads’ Association of American Railroads carload reports. Norfolk Southern’s volume was boosted by 8.2% year-over-year growth in intermodal traffic. Its carload volume, less coal, was up 1.7%. Coal […]
MELROSE PARK, Ill. — The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the death of a Union Pacific railroader who was fatally injured in Proviso Yard over the weekend. WFLD-TV reports that the worker has been identified by the Cook County coroner as 27-year-old Justin Pender. “Preliminary information indicates on July 6, at approximately 1:59 a.m. […]
Union Pacific and BNSF Railway shut down their operations in the Houston area Sunday in preparation for Hurricane Beryl, which made landfall today (Monday, July 8) as a Category 1 storm. Beryl, which was downgraded to a tropical storm this morning, came ashore at Matagorda, Texas, about 90 miles southwest of Houston. Beryl is expected […]
WASHINGTON — Three labor organizations have opposed Amtrak’s request for a waiver allowing installation of a device the company claims will prevent incidents where trains fail to trigger track circuits. As a result, a decades-old issue that recently has forced Amtrak to assign at least seven Superliners to trains operated over Canadian National’s Chicago-Carbondale, Ill., […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic showed a 3.8% gain in June over the same month in 2023, the fifth straight month of increased volume, according to data from the Association of American Railroads. Weekly traffic, for the week ending June 29, showed a 3.9% gain compared to the corresponding week a year ago. The monthly […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has completed agreements with all 28 of its labor unions, an accomplishment covering 16 collective bargaining agreements, the agency announced today (Wednesday, July 3). The agency says this is the first time in 15 years it has had agreements in place with all its unions, and — with […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern’s Lamberts Point Coal Terminal in Norfolk, Va., set a two-month tonnage record after the collapse of the Key Bridge shut down an export facility at the Port of Baltimore. NS diverted coal trains to Norfolk for CONSOL Energy, whose Baltimore terminal was blocked on March 26 after a container ship struck […]
MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada will air its annual public meeting — a pre-recorded session featuring the passenger operator’s top officials — on Wednesday, Aug. 7, the company has announced, and is soliciting questions to be answered during that meeting. Questions are being accepted beginning today (Wednesday, July 3), through Friday, July 5, at 11:59 […]
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. — Regional Rail LLC has added to its holdings in the Midwest with acquisition of the Cincinnati Eastern Railroad, a 70-mile Ohio short line, the company has announced. The company now has seven railroads in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. “The Regional Rail team and I are delighted to partner with the team […]
A fleet of GE-built former Union Pacific and Conrail locomotives exported to Estonia two decades ago are now mostly out of service, with many cut up for scrap earlier this year. A handful remain in service, and some, heavily rebuilt, remain in use in Estonia and have been exported to nearby Finland for use there. […]
Rail labor groups today released a report calling for public ownership of Class I freight railroads in the U.S., arguing that the current system is broken because it’s beholden to Wall Street. The 98-page report contends that the Class I railroads’ relentless focus on cost-cutting has hurt safety, service, employees, infrastructure investment, and passenger service. […]
