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WASHINGTON — Surface Transportation Board nominees Richard Kloster and Michelle Schultz assured senators on Thursday that they will judge Union Pacific’s proposed acquisition of Norfolk Southern on the merits — and will not allow politics to influence their decisions on the largest merger in railroad history. Kloster and Schultz spoke during a hearing of the […]
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Voters in Mecklenburg County, N.C., on Tuesday (Nov. 4) approved a 1% sales-tax increase to fund a transportation plan, including a commuter rail line. The Charlotte Observer reports that the referendum approved by a 52%-48% margin is expected to raise more than $19 billion over 30 years. The measure requires 40% of […]
WASHINGTON — A conductor’s attempt to apply a hand brake while standing in the track gauge, while using a retracted brake stick, was the probable cause of an accident that led to serious injuries to the conductor, the National Transportation Safety Board said in its final investigation report on the July 2024 incident at Norfolk […]
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of U.S. senators have asked the Surface Transportation Board to conduct a “rigorous and comprehensive evaluation” of the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger, expressing concern about its impact on agricultural producers and its possible impact on competition. “Already highly consolidated, the current landscape of railroads as it exists today represents […]
OAK BROOK, Ill. — Hub Group sees the opportunity to gain 2.5 million intermodal loads from the watershed area in the country’s midsection if the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger is approved. The watershed, the area within a few hundred miles of the Mississippi River that also is the de facto dividing line between the big […]
Eager to tie the knot, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern have asked federal regulators for a faster review of their proposed transcontinental merger, Trains has learned. The Surface Transportation Board in September proposed a roughly 390-day schedule to review the railroads’ $85 billion deal. The calendar includes wiggle room that would allow the board to […]
Norfolk Southern didn’t mind being late to the AC-traction party. And NS wasn’t just fashionably late, either. As Burlington Northern, Canadian Pacific, CSX, and Union Pacific gravitated toward AC locomotives in the mid 1990s, NS stuck with DC, saying it couldn’t justify the higher cost of AC-traction units. Even little Kansas City Southern jumped aboard […]
EAST LANSING, Mich. — The Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger is unlikely to revive carload traffic — and it’s an open question whether it can unlock intermodal growth because of broader economic trends that are beyond railroads’ control, a Michigan State University supply chain management professor said during a webcast today. UP says its proposed $85 […]
Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific have launched their new domestic interline intermodal service linking Louisville, Ky., with UP terminals via interchange at Kansas City, Kan. GE Appliances is among the anchor customers on the service, which first rolled on Oct. 20, NS said today. The railroads announced the joint service on Sept. 15, roughly six […]
A Norfolk Southern AC44C6M diesel locomotive is one of the latest additions to the ScaleTrains Rivet Counter line. The HO scale model, based on General Electric Dash 9-40C and Dash 9-44CW rebuilds, features an injection-molded plastic body, die-cast metal chassis, and body-mounted metal Type E semi-scale couplers. Prototype history Norfolk Southern No. 4000 was built […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern touted efficiency gains, strong service levels, and safety improvements as third-quarter revenue fell short of expectations and competitive pressure ratcheted up from BNSF and CSX. “Norfolk Southern delivered another quarter of strong results on safety, service, and productivity through a dynamic freight market,” CEO Mark George said today (Thursday, Oct. 23). […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena says shipper associations and other railroads have whipped up some whoppers about UP’s proposed acquisition of Norfolk Southern — even before their merger application has been filed with federal regulators. “It’s truly amazing that they know already what we’re putting in the merger application,” Vena quipped during […]
