Norfolk Southern creates new position for vice president of transportation

Norfolk Southern logo

ATLANTA — As of Sept. 16,  Norfolk Southern has confirmed two recent promotions in its current ranks. According to NS’ media relations department, Floyd Hudson has been appointed to a newly created position. His title: Vice president of field engagement. In this leadership role, Hudson will primarily be engaging with front-line railroaders for ideas on […]

Read More…

Federal regulators OK Norfolk Southern acquisition of Cincinnati Southern

WASHINGTON – Federal regulators today approved Norfolk Southern’s proposed $1.62 billion acquisition of the Cincinnati Southern Railway, which it has leased from the City of Cincinnati since 1881. But Cincinnati voters will have the final word: They’re scheduled to vote on the proposal on Nov. 7. The Surface Transportation Board decision also authorized NS subsidiary […]

Read More…

Wabtec gets work out of new locomotive engines before they even leave the factory floor

Locomotive prime movers: Pale-green painted engines sit on blocks in a factory.

PITTSBURGH – Wabtec has come up with a creative way to produce power at its Grove City, Pa., engine plant: It’s tapping the electricity generated during testing of the thousands of new locomotive and marine engines the factory builds each year. Wabtec tests up to 3,000 engines at the Grove City plant annually, with each […]

Read More…

EMD’s Geeps: A rare pair of diesel locomotives

A pair of blue locomotives rest in a freight yard under a sunny sky. The locomotive have white roofs and white road numbers.

GP15D & GP20D A rare pair of Geep diesel locomotives, the GP15D and GP20D, looked like sure winners, but sank with hardly a ripple when they hit the market in the early 2000s. Locomotive builder MotivePower, Inc., based in Boise, Idaho marketed a light road-switcher concept in the early 2000s that should have appealed to […]

Read More…

STB seeks more information about UP-CPKC trackage rights dispute

Aerial view of Kansas City Southern train passing grain elevators in Texas

WASHINGTON – Federal regulators have asked Union Pacific and Canadian Pacific Kansas City to provide more information regarding their ongoing dispute over CPKC trackage rights on UP between Beaumont, Texas, and the ports of Houston and Galveston. The Surface Transportation Board, in a decision posted today, also denied CPKC’s request for an expedited decision by […]

Read More…

Influx of migrants along rail lines prompts Ferromex to suspend northbound service to US border (updated)

Ferromex to suspend northbound service MEXICO CITY – Ferromex has temporarily suspended operations in some areas of Mexico due to the large numbers of migrants seeking to hop freight trains to the U.S. border. The railroad announced the unusual move yesterday and said that 60 northbound trains were currently being held for safety reasons. In […]

Read More…

AskRail hazmat app for first responders integrated into dispatch systems in East Palestine, Ohio, area

The Association of American Railroads and Norfolk Southern have integrated AskRail, the industry’s hazardous materials app for first responders, into the emergency management dispatching systems for Columbiana County, Ohio, and Beaver County, Pa., which serve the East Palestine, Ohio, area. The AskRail app helps ensure that first responders can quickly access train consist information to […]

Read More…

Alaska Railroad’s SD70MACs

A yellow and blue locomotive rolls along under blue partly cloudy skies with golden vegetation in the foreground

Note: This article corrects an earlier version that contained an error in the description of the SD70’s HTC-R trucks. See Comments for more information.  Alaska Railroad’s SD70MACs make up the backbone of the railroad’s freight operations and they also power all the ARR’s long-distance passenger trains — wait, isn’t the SD70MAC a freight locomotive? Although […]

Read More…

Norfolk Southern sets up interim property fund to help home sellers in East Palestine, Ohio

Norfolk Southern logo

ATLANTA – Norfolk Southern has established an interim fund that will backstop the value of homes sold in East Palestine, Ohio, and some surrounding communities, the railroad said yesterday. The Value Assurance Program will compensate home sellers for any difference between a home’s value and its selling price in the wake of the toxic Feb. […]

Read More…

BNSF and BMWED union reach tentative deal on paid sick time

BNSF Railway logo

BNSF Railway and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division—International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED) have reached a tentative agreement which includes paid sick days. Building upon existing BNSF paid time off and sickness benefits, BMWED members will receive individual paid days off to use as sick days and gain the ability to convert up […]

Read More…

Canadian National revives century old ‘wafer’ logo on Wabtec rebuild

Canadian National AC44C6M No. 3309, which was rebuilt at the Wabtec plant in Fort Worth last year, now sports the railway’s steam era logo on its long hood. The unit was first spotted with the so-called “wafer” logo last week. The 3309 has been on the point of the CN business train since departing Markham, […]

Read More…

Analysis: New reciprocal switching rule offers carrot and stick for better rail service

Freight train passing Metra station at BNSF Cicero Yard

If it works as intended, the Surface Transportation Board’s proposed reciprocal switching rule just might — emphasis on might — lead to better service for Class I railroad carload customers. Earlier this month the board unveiled the long-awaited rule, which for the first time proposes service standards for railroads. If a railroad fails to meet […]

Read More…