ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has resumed hump operations at its classification yard in Macon, Ga., and will soon reopen the hump at Bellevue, Ohio, as part of the new operating plan it began rolling out last month. Both yards were converted to flat-switching facilities in 2020 after volume sank at the onset of the pandemic. […]
PARIS — A Quebec pension fund which has been active in Canadian rail infrastructure projects is reportedly the front-runner to purchase a Paris-based locomotive leasing firm. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and a possible alternative purchaser, U.S. investment bank J.P. Morgan, both outbid potential French purchasers for leasing firm Akiem. The transaction […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has released its long-anticipated rule proposal to require two-person crews for trains, drawing predictable, and strong, reactions from railroads (which are opposed), and unions (which are in favor). The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would require two-person crews except for “certain low risk operations and circumstances where mitigating measures are […]
ATLANTA – Norfolk Southern set quarterly revenue, operating income, and earnings per share records despite lower volume and service problems related to ongoing crew shortages. “In the second quarter we stabilized service levels, expanded our pipeline of conductor trainees, and launched the next evolution of our operating plan, TOP | SPG, with our signature no […]
MONTREAL – Canadian National’s plan to turn the Port of Halifax, Nova Scotia, into the Prince Rupert of the East is gaining traction. In June CN launched a second pair of intermodal trains that serve Halifax, where terminal operator PSA now owns both container terminals and has made improvements. The port also has expanded berths […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway’s embargo of certain types of carload traffic bound for California has been extended into August as its Southern Transcon remains congested in the Southwest. The embargo, which took effect on June 27, applies to automotive shipments as well as specific agricultural and industrial commodities. “In response to our temporary […]
MONTREAL – Canadian National reported record revenue and operating income in the second quarter amid a dramatic operational turnaround that has the railway performing at its highest levels in five years. “The network is fluid and the operating team has done a great job of improving performance across the network,” CEO Tracy Robinson told investors […]
BREMERVORDE, Germany — The world’s first hydrogen-powered trains in regular passenger service are now in operation, having begun service July 25 on a German regional rail line between Cuxhaven and Buxtehude, via Bremervörde. Bremervörde is around 40 miles southwest of the city of Hamburg. The initial service is being billed as “preliminary,” in case operating […]
WASHINGTON – Illinois Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, along with two of the state’s representatives, have told federal regulators that they oppose the merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, citing projections of increased freight traffic in Chicago and its suburbs. “The proposed merger will reportedly more than triple freight rail traffic on […]
Sometimes big stories hide in plain sight. One of them is the jaw-dropping way BNSF Railway has outgrown the other three big U.S. Class I railroads. Over the past two decades, BNSF has owned all of the tonnage growth on the big four U.S. systems. Its gross ton-miles are up 71% since 1996, BNSF’s first […]
OTTAWA — The Canadian government will require railroads to revise rules regarding inspection and maintenance of air brakes and develop a winter operating plan under a ministerial order announced Monday. The move is one of several undertaken by Transport Canada as a result of Transportation Safety Board findings into the February 2019 runaway of a […]
WASHINGTON — A significant gulf between the two sides on pay and medical benefits defines proposals presented by rail labor unions and railroads as the Presidential Emergency Board addressing the contract dispute begins its work. The board began a week of hearings on Sunday afternoon. The three-person board was appointed by President Joe Biden earlier […]
