CHICAGO — Commuter rail operator Metra will offer free rides on the weekend of June 8-9, concluding a week of activities to mark its 40th anniversary. The agency dates its birth from June 8, 1984, when the first meeting was held of the Regional Transportation Authority’s Commuter Rail Division. The Metra name was adopted a […]
WASHINGTON — Patrick J. Fuchs has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate for a second term on the Surface Transportation Board. Fuchs was confirmed by a voice vote on Tuesday, May 14. His latest term expires on Jan. 14, 2029. President Joe Biden had nominated Fuchs for reappointment in January, and the Senate Committee on […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic for the week ending May 11 was up slightly over the same week in 2023, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. Total volume for the week was 468,748 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.6% from the corresponding week a year ago. That included 209,319 carloads, down 7% […]
ATLANTA – Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw trounced the activist investor’s chief executive candidate during last week’s proxy contest, according to a final tally of shareholder votes the railroad released today. Shaw received the backing of 64.1% of the investors who voted for board candidates in the days leading up to Thursday’s annual shareholder meeting. […]
Final Spike Steam Tour On Thursday, May 9, 2024, Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railroad’s Class H-1b Hudson No. 2816 continued its Final Spike Steam Tour operating over former Milwaukee Road trackage into Iowa following a display day in Franklin Park, Ill. The 4-6-4 and the CPKC executive train rolled west across the old Milwaukee Road […]
OTTAWA, Ontario – The Canadian government will once again own the landmark Québec Bridge over the St. Lawrence River after negotiations with Canadian National, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced today. “The Québec Bridge is a source of pride for the people of Quebec City and all Canadians. It is a timeless symbol of what is […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs made three employees’ days yesterday when he handed them the keys to new Ford pickup trucks. All unionized employees with perfect attendance over a six-month span are entered into the ONE CSX Drive to Succeed raffle. The prize: One of three F-150 Lariat Supercrew trucks. Hinrichs started his […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Short line railroad and transload operator Patriot Rail Co. has named Port of New Orleans CEO Brandy D. Christian as its next chief executive officer. Christian will join Patriot Rail on June 17, the company said today. She’ll succeed CEO John Fenton, who is retiring after 12 years at the helm. “Brandy […]
BOSTON — Richard Davey, president of New York City Transit, is one of two finalists to become CEO of the Massachusetts Port Authority, that agency has announced. The New York website Gothamist was among news outlets reporting earlier this week that Davey was leaving for the Massport job, although Davey denied the report. The Boston […]
The recent shortage of Amtrak long-distance sleeper cars has hoisted the venerable, but rapidly aging, Superliner equipment into the spotlight again. You can read more about past and present Superliner woes in the article, “Superliner capacity not a new issue”, appearing in the July 2024 issue of Trains magazine. But first, catch a glimpse of […]
JUNEAU, Alaska — A bill to fund two Alaska Railroad projects met with mixed results in the state Senate Finance Committee, the news site Must Read Alaska reports. The committee retained the original measure in House Bill 122, which authorizes up to $75 million in bonds for a new Seward dock and related facilities [see […]
BOSTON — The union representing coach cleaners and car inspectors for MBTA commuter rail service have reached a tentative contract agreement including a significant raise and paid sick leave for the first time. Transportation Workers Union Local 2054 reached agreement with Keolis, contract operator of the MBTA commuter system, last week following a 10-hour negotiating […]
