Union Pacific seeks to block BNSF access to Arkansas quarry

WASHINGTON – For the second time in the past three months, federal regulators are being asked to settle a dispute related to Union Pacific’s 1996 acquisition of Southern Pacific. BNSF Railway has requested that the Surface Transportation Board allow it to access a UP-served quarry in Arkansas. In a filing that appeared on the STB […]

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Incorrectly aligned derail caused 2022 incident with CN train, TSB determines

Two derailed locomotives partially buried in dirt with containers visible in the background

DORVAL, Quebec — An incorrectly lined derail caused the derailment of a Canadian National train on CSX track in a December 2022 incident near Huntingdon, Quebec, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada determined in its final report released Thursday, Feb. 8. No injuries occurred in the incident, which saw two locomotives and six intermodal cars […]

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North Dakota Supreme Court upholds dismissal of suit over BNSF Bismarck bridge

Train coming off bridge on broad curve

BISMARCK, N.D. — The North Dakota Supreme Court has rebuffed a preservation group’s latest legal effort to block demolition of BNSF’s Bismarck-Mandan Rail Bridge, upholding a lower court’s dismissal of a suit by Friends of the Rail Bridge on technical grounds. The Fargo Forum reports that the court’s five justices, in a decision released today […]

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City of Mobile to skip STB hearing on Amtrak service

Logo of the City of Mobile

MOBILE, Ala. — The City of Mobile will not take part in the Surface Transportation Board’s hearing on delays in launching Amtrak service between Mobile and New Orleans, Mayor Sandy Stimpson informed the board in a brief letter today (Thursday, Feb. 8). The board announced Tuesday that it would proceed with that hearing on Feb. […]

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Alabama to build an inland terminal linking Port of Mobile with Decatur, Ala.

The Alabama Port Authority will build a new intermodal terminal in Decatur, Ala., in a partnership with CSX. The North Alabama Intermodal Container Transfer Facility will connect the Port of Mobile with customers in the central and northern parts of Alabama, the port authority said Thursday (Feb. 7). The port authority will redevelop a portion […]

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Cummins to repower locomotives as part of pickup emissions cheating settlement

Two red diesel engines on factory floor

Last month’s announcement of a settlement between Cummins and the U.S. Justice Department and the state of California over emission-defeating devices installed on over a half-million pickup trucks with Cummins diesel engines has far-reaching effects. In addition to monetary penalties, mitigation of the total excess nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions emitted by the RAM pickup trucks […]

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Indiana Northeastern Railroad photo gallery

Indiana Northeastern Railroad The Indiana Northeastern Railroad is a shortline railroad running in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. It is owned and operated by a close-knit family and friendly employees. The railroad has an all-Electro-Motive Division locomotive roster, which is maintained in a state-of-the-art shop at Hudson, Ind. The shop forces have rebuilt several of the […]

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Union Pacific opens Phoenix intermodal facility

Yellow locomotive with stack cars being loaded

PHOENIX — Union Pacific has opened its Phoenix Intermodal Terminal, the latest addition to the railroad’s “pop-up” terminal strategy to test markets before building large, permanent facilities. The railroad says in an article on its website that the facility opened Feb. 1, 45 days after it first announced plans for the facility [see “Union Pacific […]

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Passenger, freight traffic through Gotthard Base Tunnel to increase in March

Interior of concrete tube of rail tunnel with one track

BERN, Switzerland — Freight and passenger traffic will increase through the Gotthard Base Tunnel in March, Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) announced on Tuesday, Feb. 7, with tunnel scheduling accommodating additional passenger traffic during the Easter holiday period. Tunnel traffic has been disrupted since an Aug. 10, 2023, derailment that closed one bore of the two-bore […]

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FTA Administrator Fernandez to retire (updated)

Woman with dark hair in red blouse

WASHINGTON — Nuria Fernandez, administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, will retire effective Feb. 24, the agency announced on Wednesday. Fernandez was named deputy administrator on Jan. 20, 2021, by newly inaugurated President Joe Biden, subsequently nominated as administrator, and was confirmed by the Senate on June 10, 2021, becoming the 15th FTA Administrator and […]

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U.S. rail traffic down slightly in January

Weekly table showing U.S. carload rail traffic by commodity type, plus intermodal totals.

WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic was down slightly in January, but up considerably for the week ending Feb. 3, according to the latest statistics from the Association of American Railroads. For January, overall traffic was down 0.7%, with carload volume down 7.2% and container and trailer volume up 5.5%, compared to the first month of […]

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NTSB releases preliminary report on January death of Ohio Central maintenance worker

National Transportation Safety Board logo

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary report on the fatality of an Ohio Central Railroad signal maintainer, found deceased by the crew of a Wheeling & Lake Erie freight train on Jan. 15 operating on the Columbus & Ohio River Railroad adjacent to the New Rumley Road grade crossing near […]

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