At CN, holding for tonnage is out; running to schedule is in

CHICAGO — Canadian National executives on Wednesday dissected the long-train strategy that the railway has cast aside in favor of an operating plan where sticking to schedule is gospel. “The plan is sacred” was a phrase CN officials used multiple times during the railway’s investor day presentations. “You have this phrase around here … ‘the […]

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Siemens presentation offers opportunity to compare hydrogen, battery-powered trains

Yellow and white multiple-unit trainset on straight track

WILDENRATH, Germany — A recent presentation by Siemens offered the opportunity to compare the company’s new hydrogen and battery trains for Europe, and provided a look at a new road-transport-based mobile hydrogen filling station. The equipment was presented at the Siemens-owned test center in northwestern Germany. The Wildenrath facility, with two test loops, is built […]

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Rail regulation bill advances in Pennsylvania legislature

The pennsylvania state seal

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A bill seeking to introduce a broad range of rail regulations in the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment easily advanced out of a Pennsylvania House committee on Wednesday, despite concerns voiced by some members that the matter is one for federal, not state, action. PennLive.com reports that House Bill 1028 […]

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CN: Operational improvements will enable significant volume growth

Train with red and black locomotives crosses cruved trestle

A westbound Canadian National train crosses the Thompson River on the CN main at Lytton, British Columbia, in May 2015. CN will continue to add capacity west of Edmonton, Alberta, to support traffic growth. Alex Mayes   CHICAGO — During an investor day presentation today, Canadian National touted its operational improvements over the past year […]

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California passes regulations calling for zero-emission locomotives

Freight train with yellow locomotives in mountains

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California has passed regulations requiring dramatic measures to reduce diesel locomotive emissions within the state — including all new locomotives to offer zero-emission operation by 2035 — although the rail industry says the rules exceed the technology needed to meet them. In a move last week, the California Air Resources Board passed […]

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Amtrak faces major price tag for next step in Gateway Tunnel project

President of the U.S. speaking in rail facility surrounded by officials and railroad workers

NEW YORK — The last portion of a massive concrete box to carry the planned Gateway Tunnel project under development in Manhattan will cost more than $690 million — which could leave Amtrak to come up with more than $260 million in funding, NJ.com reports. The Gateway Development Commission, the bi-state organization overseeing the planned […]

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Authorities clean up after hazardous-materials leak from tank car in Ohio

Fire truck parked near freight train

MARION, Ohio — Local, state, federal, and railroad officials were continuing clean-up and investigation this evening (Tuesday, May 2) after a freight car on a CSX Transportation train was discovered to be leaking a hazardous material earlier today. The Marion Star reports a leak of phosphoric acid was reported at 3:21 a.m. The leak from […]

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CN, UP, and Ferromex tighten new Canada-Mexico intermodal schedules (updated)

MONTREAL — Canadian National, Union Pacific, and Ferromex have significantly tightened the schedules for the new intermodal service they will launch on May 15 to link Canada and Detroit with Mexico. The changes to the Falcon Premium service, announced in customer advisories on Monday, take 40 hours out of the Detroit-Monterrey transit time and trim […]

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STB requires BNSF, NS, and UP to continue to provide detailed service progress reports

Container train passing under bridge

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators will require BNSF Railway, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific to continue to provide biweekly service progress reports through the end of the year. The Surface Transportation Board, in a decision released today, said the three systems had not yet made enough progress toward the operations, service, and employment goals they had […]

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Amtrak hopes to resolve Pennsylvania freight customer complaint about track project

Amtrak640

WASHINGTON — Amtrak has told federal regulators that it wants to find a way to resolve a complaint from freight customers who will lose access to Norfolk Southern service for several weeks during trackwork on the Philadelphia-Harrisburg main line. Amtrak plans to shut one track to all traffic starting this month, which would prevent NS […]

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Norfolk Southern seeks regulatory approval for purchase of CNO&TP

Southern Railway history: Black locomotives pulling a freight train.

WASHINGTON — Norfolk Southern yesterday sought regulatory approval for its acquisition of the Cincinnati Southern Railway, the municipally owned railroad that forms the 338.2-mile Chattanooga-Cincinnati backbone of NS’s key corridor linking Chicago with Atlanta and the Southeast. NS asked the Surface Transportation Board to approve the $1.62 billion acquisition as a minor transaction. Norfolk Southern […]

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