ATLANTA — Americold Realty Trust will spend $127 million on a 335,000-square-foot cold storage facility in Kansas City, Mo., the first in a series of planned facilities to be located along the CPKC rail network, the company announced Thursday (Feb. 22). CPKC and Americold announced their collaboration last year, and said then that the first […]
FRONT ROYAL, Va. — The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen has become the first rail labor union to come out against the activist investor group that’s plotting to oust Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw and gain control of the railroad’s board. The union today expressed “grave concern” with Ancora Holdings’ proxy battle. The union said Ancora […]
LOWELL, Ark. — J.B. Hunt will acquire all of Walmart’s domestic intermodal containers and chassis as part of a new long-term intermodal contract with the nation’s largest retailer. Walmart, which has been a J.B. Hunt customer for decades, had 14,100 WAMU containers in its fleet as of April 2023, but that figure is now between […]
WASHINGTON — Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose, in a Wednesday letter to Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw, has cautioned against “backsliding, as a result of a change in leadership or otherwise, on the safety-oriented path” the railroad has established since the February 2023 East Palestine derailment. Bose’s letter comes in response to an effort by […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific plans to spend $3.4 billion on capital projects in 2024, the railroad announced Wednesday, with more than half of that going to basic infrastructure upgrades and replacement, such as rail, ties, and ballast. The $1.9 billion for infrastructure represents approximately 56% of the capital plan. Another $600 million is budgeted […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic was up from 2023 levels for the fourth straight week, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads, with overall traffic showing a 3.7% gain for the week ending Feb. 17. Total traffic for the week was 474,226 carloads and intermodal units. That included 220,539 carloads, down 0.6% from […]
CHICAGO — Stadler US will build eight two-car battery-electric trainsets for Chicago’s Metra, its first order for such equipment in the United States, the commuter operator and manufacturer announced today (Wednesday, Feb. 21). The eight trainsets are the initial order for an agreement that could expand to as many as 16 trainsets. While the trainsets […]
WASHINGTON — Metra will receive $100 million to purchase 50 new multilevel commuter rail cars, the Federal Transit Administration announced today, part of almost $631 million in federal funding awarded through the FTA’s Rail Vehicle Replacement Program. Other awards — to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and the Maryland Transit Administration — had previously been […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway has made a founding donation of $2 million to the National Juneteenth Museum, the planned Fort Worth facility has announced. “BNSF is proud to partner with the National Juneteenth Museum to help honor American history and foster opportunities for economic and cultural growth, right near our headquarters here in […]
BALTIMORE — The Maryland Transit Administration will receive more than $213 million in federal funding to help replace its entire light rail fleet, Democratic members of the state’s congressional delegation announced Tuesday. The $213,696,341 from the Federal Transit Administration’s Rail Vehicle Replacement program will go toward MTA plans to replace the 52-vehicle light rail fleet. […]
TOPEKA, Kan. — Seventeen short line rail expansion and rehabilitation projects in Kansas will receive almost $16.5 million in grants through the state Department of Transportation’s Rail Service Improvement Program, Gov. Laura Kelly announced Tuesday. Railroads and shippers are among the recipients. They will provide a 30% match to the state funding, resulting in total […]
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Brenton A. MacDonald has been named vice president and chief operating officer at Sierra Northern Railway, the company announced Tuesday. MacDonald, who joined the company in 2013, most recently had served as general manager. He has also been manager of safety and training and well as a conductor and engineer. He […]
