Union Pacific intermodal train derails in California desert

Union Pacific logo without slogan. UP Bailey Yard explosion appear to be accidental.

MECCA, Calif. — About 20 cars of a Union Pacific intermodal train derailed Wednesday in the Coachella Valley community of Mecca on Wednesday afternoon, closing a state highway and the railroad’s Sunset Route. Cal Fire said on social media that emergency crews responded to the incident at 5:06 p.m. No injuries were reported. A hazardous […]

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CPKC ‘makes its own luck’ with Mexico-Canada growth, new CSX service

Stack train in snow

WASHINGTON — Canadian Pacific Kansas City CEO Keith Creel says his railway is making its own luck at a time when trade tensions, economic uncertainty, and plenty of truck capacity are roadblocks to volume growth. “We create solutions instead of excuses,” Creel told an investor conference on Wednesday. Among them: Boosting traffic between Canada and […]

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FRA: Installation of shunt-enhancing antennas for passenger trains not imminent

Going-away shot of passenger train with bilevel cars, with Chicago skyline in distance

WASHINGTON — Devices that ensure a passenger train always activates signal and highway warning devices — regardless of track conditions or a train’s car type, speed, or length — will be installed on some Amtrak trains “this calendar year,” according to the Federal Railroad Administration. Responding to a Trains information request, the FRA said the […]

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CN train backed into Amtrak’s City of New Orleans twice, NTSB says

Diagram of switching moves leading to collision between freight and passenger trains

WASHINGTON — A Canadian National train making a shove move backed into Amtrak’s City of New Orleans, then backed up and hit the passenger train a second time, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its preliminary report on the Feb. 22, 2026, collision near Memphis. The incident at about 11 a.m. led to minor […]

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Ethanol tank cars involved in UP derailment in Houston suburb

RICHMOND, Texas — Twenty-three cars of a Union Pacific train derailed today (March 18) in the Houston suburb of Richmond. No evacuation has been ordered, although officials say leaks have been detected from two cars carrying ethanol. “Both leaks are contained,” Fort Bend County Fire Marshal Justin York said in a press conference carried by […]

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Norfolk Southern: Rising energy costs are a double-edged sword for freight traffic

WASHINGTON — The spike in energy prices since the start of the Iran conflict could be a blessing or a curse, Norfolk Southern executives say. It’s clear that the dramatic increase in fuel prices will increase the railroad’s first-quarter costs by $20 million to $30 million — and that the NS fuel surcharge program will […]

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Two minor injuries reported after Sunset Limited hits truck

Fire trucks on roadway with train in background

MISSOURI CITY, Texas — Two passengers suffered minor injuries on Tuesday, March 17, when Amtrak’s Sunset Limited hit a truck hauling a container at a grade crossing, NBC News reports. Missouri City Fire Chief Mario Partida said crews responded to the accident around 11 a.m. local time. Two minor injuries were treated at the scene, […]

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CN volume tops expectations as winter tests operations

Train throwing snow as it pushes through drifts

WASHINGTON — Canadian National’s volume is running slightly ahead of expectations so far this year as operations held up well during winter, Chief Operating Officer Patrick Whitehead says. Car velocity is up 10% compared with last year, while train speed is up 6% and terminal dwell is down 6%, he told an investor conference on […]

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Second Presidential Emergency Board finds for unions in dispute with LIRR

EMU train arrives at station

WASHINGTON — A second Presidential Emergency Board has sided with a coalition of unions in their ongoing contract dispute with the Long Island Rail Road — but the LIRR rejected the board’s recommendation, setting the stage for a strike or lockout in May. The board was, under the rules of the Railway Labor Act, required […]

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South Shore’s Monon Corridor plans March 31 debut

Electrified commuter train at station

HAMMOND, Ind. — South Shore Line commuter service on its new Monon Corridor branch is set to begin Tuesday, March 31, according to the Northern Indiana Commuter Transit District. The 8-mile right-of-way, a segment of a route that once hosted Monon’s Thoroughbred to Louisville, Ky., and the Tippecanoe and Hoosier to Indianapolis before rails were […]

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CN train derailed by mudslide in British Columbia

Canadian National logo

PORT EDWARD, British Columbia — A mudslide derailed a Canadian National train on the railroad’s line to Prince Rupert, B.C., on Monday, March 16. The CBC reports the derailment occurred about 12:45 p.m. CN told the broadcaster that the train’s crew ‘exited the locomotive safely and are being attended to by local first responders.” No […]

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CSX awaits last component of Howard Street Tunnel clearance project

WASHINGTON — The final piece of CSX’s Howard Street Tunnel clearance project — raising a bridge in Baltimore — is expected to be completed late next month, opening the way for double-stack service in the Interstate 95 corridor. “On the I-95 corridor we move a good amount of traffic already between Florida and the Northeast […]

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