Ron Batory, Federal Railroad Administration administrator U.S. Department of Transportation WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration is setting up a big tent and inviting in a broad group of interests to join and collaborate to drive incidents of grade crossing and trespassing fatalities to zero. A summit Oct. 29 drew some 200 parties from railroads, […]
Derailed tank cars from a Union Pacific unit ethanol train burn near Iowa cornfields on March 10, 2017. Ted Ellis WASHINGTON — National Transportation Safety Board officials say Union Pacific’s “impressive” response following a March 2017 derailment is a sign the railroad’s maintenance and government oversight were lacking before the accident. NTSB officials met Tuesday […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific is accelerating the rollout of its Precision Scheduled Railroading operating plan after encouraging signs from the first round of changes on the eastern portion of its system. “While early, I am pleased with the initial results as we’ve seen improvements in several key performance indicators on our network,” CEO Lance […]
Canadian National MONTREAL — The completion of double-tracking projects on Canadian National between Edmonton, Alberta, and Winnipeg, Manitoba, helped the railroad handle record traffic levels on its key corridor this month. CN has now placed in service 22 of its 27 capacity-expansion projects on its main line linking western Canada with Chicago. CN has been […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific will cut as many as 475 positions from the railroad by the end of this year, the Omaha World-Herald reports. The newspaper reports that a memorandum shared with employees shows the railroad will also cut about 200 contractual positions. The newspaper cites UP CEO Lance Fritz saying the railroad had […]
Car W-933, converted from an old baggage car, is part of a five-car New Haven wire train based out of New Rochelle, N.Y. The platform on the roof provides a place for workers to stand as they repair the overhead catenary. Bruce Owen Nett photo […]
A northbound Kansas City Southern empty grain train passes Union Pacific’s yard in Laredo, Texas, as it crosses the International Railway Bridge over the Rio Grande in November 2017. Bill Stephens KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With interchange partner Union Pacific jumping on the Precision Scheduled Railroading bandwagon, will Kansas City Southern follow suit or at […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The way CSX Transportation is handling more tonnage with fewer locomotives, freight cars, and people is a textbook example of Precision Scheduled Railroading at work. For the third quarter, CSX’s revenue ton-miles were up 7 percent and overall volume grew 4 percent compared to the same period last year. Yet CSX was […]
CSX Transportation safety chart CSX Corp. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation is making safety improvement strides. The railroad’s personal injury rate improved for the fifth straight quarter, while the train accident rate declined compared to last year and the second quarter, CSX noted in its third-quarter earnings call on Tuesday. “The safety of our employees […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific is closing its locomotive shop in South Morrill, Neb., in January. UP representative Kristen South confirmed the closure in an email to Trains on Monday. She says the railroad is working with labor unions so railroaders have the opportunity to relocate within the railroad’s network, based on seniority. Workers who […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation will drop service between 300 more intermodal origin-destination pairs in January as part of its ongoing effort to focus on more profitable, higher-density routes. As part of the changes, announced on Oct. 4, CSX also will introduce new service linking seven domestic markets. The streamlining is similar to changes CSX […]
Canadian Pacific CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific has developed a high-tech solution to a problem that has long bedeviled railroads: The feast or famine volume swings in intermodal traffic over the course of a week. Like most railroads, CP saw a flood of intermodal traffic arrive at its terminals Wednesday through Friday, with much lower […]
