NTSB releases report on Union Pacific conductor fatality

Aerial view of scene of fatal accident at Chicago-area rail yard

WASHINGTON — The probable cause of a July 2024 fatal collision at Union Pacific’s Proviso Yard was an inexperienced conductor’s failure to alert the engineer to stop the train at a designated point during a shove move in unfamiliar territory, the National Transportation Safety Board said today (July 2, 2025). The conductor — who was […]

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STB turns down Metra request for injunction in dispute with UP (updated)

Commuter train on curve with multistory buildings in background

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has denied Metra’s request for a temporary injunction or emergency service order protecting commuter operations on three Union Pacific lines in the Chicago area, saying Metra has not shown the situation meets “the standard required for either avenue of relief.” The five-page ruling was made Tuesday, July 1, but […]

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News photos: Lincoln (locomotive) in Springfield

Red, maroon, and gray diesel with crowd at passenger station

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Abraham Lincoln — or at least the locomotive celebrating his memory — returned to Lincoln’s hometown of Springfield, Ill., today (Tuesday, July 1). Union Pacific’s Lincoln commemorative locomotive came to Springfield to celebrate the day Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act authorizing construction of the Transcontinential Railroad — the day UP recognizes […]

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BNSF fails to convince regulators it should be able to serve two UP locations

WASHINGTON — BNSF Railway’s efforts to serve two shippers located on Union Pacific trackage were dealt a setback today when federal regulators said they were not persuaded that BNSF had the right to reach the customers as part of conditions granted during the UP-Southern Pacific merger. The separate decisions from the Surface Transportation Board, however, […]

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Union Pacific asks STB to disallow some material from latest Metra filing (updated)

Commuter train on curve

WASHINGTON — Union Pacific has asked the Surface Transportation Board to disallow some of the material Metra included in its latest filing in its request for trackage rights on UP lines in the Chicago area, saying Metra’s rebuttal included impermissible new evidence. The Metra filing on Monday, June 23, included a proposal for an interim […]

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Metra seeks to temporarily maintain status quo in UP contract dispute

Commuter train in push mode departs station as freight train moves away on adjacent track

WASHINGTON — Metra has proposed that terms for its continued operation on Union Pacific lines in the Chicago area maintain the status quo until the sides reach an agreement or regulators rule in their ongoing contract dispute, according to the commuter operator’s latest filing with the Surface Transportation Board. The June 23 filing is part […]

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FRA urges railroads to step up conductor training and testing

Local switches factory while locomotive moves commuter railcars on overpass

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has released a safety bulletin related to a June 9 close-clearance switching accident that killed a Union Pacific conductor in Nacogdoches, Texas. “Based on FRA’s preliminary investigation, the locomotive engineer was shoving two locomotives and five covered hopper cars into a siding. The conductor was riding the consist and […]

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UP Lincoln locomotive coming to Springfield, Ill.

Red, maroon, and gray locomotive passing grain elevator

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Union Pacific will bring its Abraham Lincoln locomotive to Springfield, the hometown of the 16th president, on July 1, to commemorate the railroad’s 163rd birthday. The railroad was founded on July 1, 1862, when Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act authorizing construction of the first transcontinental railroad. To mark the occasion, UP, […]

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Falcon Premium, joint CN-UP-Ferromex intermodal service, receives Mexican award

MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway has announced Falcon Premium intermodal service it operates with Union Pacific and Grupo Mexico’s Ferromex has received the Silver Container (Contenedor de Plata) award from the Asociación Mexicana de Transporte Intermodal. The organization is Mexico’s leading intermodal transport association, promoting best practices in cross-border logistics. The award recognizes outstanding achievements […]

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Colorado DOT to hold open house updating Mountain Rail project

Map of rail route between Denver and Craig, Colo.

FRASER, Colo. — The Colorado Department of Transportation will hold an open house meeting on Wednesday, June 18, to discuss the Mountain Rail proposal for passenger service between Denver and Craig, Colo. The meeting will be held from 5:30 to 7:30p.m. at Fraser Valley Elementary School, 125 Eastom Ave., in Fraser. It will be live […]

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Metra responds to UP request for regulators to dismiss trackage-rights case

Commuter train arrives at station

WASHINGTON — Rebutting a Union Pacific motion to dismiss, Chicago area commuter rail operator Metra says the Surface Transportation Board clearly has jurisdiction to address its request for trackage rights — part of its ongoing dispute with UP over financial terms for continued operation on three Union Pacific lines. And in a turnabout — after […]

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Classic Trains Film Archive | Illinois and Ohio Highlights, J. David Ingles Reel 0050

Classic Trains Film Archive | Illinois and Ohio Highlights, J. David Ingles Reel 0050 – Explore the fascinating world of 1960s Midwest railroading with rare footage and historic action across Central Illinois and Ohio. Visit Jacksonville, Ill., to see legendary trains from Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q), Gulf, Mobile & Ohio (GM&O), and Norfolk & […]

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