TORONTO – Teamsters Canada union leaders are urging federal officials in Ottawa to stay out of the collective bargaining process and back railway workers’ right to strike. “The transportation industry’s most powerful chief executives have developed a way to sidestep union negotiations,” Francois Laporte, national president of Teamsters Canada, and Paul Boucher, president of the […]
Train Topic: Rail Industry
Railroads ramp up the use of artificial intelligence
CHICAGO — Artificial intelligence is weaving itself into the daily operations of big U.S. railroads, helping managers make data-backed decisions about operating plans and identify trends among virtually any process. As railroads migrate from mainframe-based systems to cloud-based platforms with real-time data components, railroads are plugging in generative AI — machine-learning tools — to make […]
NJ Transit breaks ground on new storage, service facility
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — NJ Transit has begun work on a new facility to provide storage for locomotive and railcars that protects against flooding, a project reflecting the impact of 2012’s Hurricane Sandy. Groundbreaking was held today (Dec. 12) for the County Yard/Delco Lead Storage and Inspection Facility project, to be built along the Northeast […]
New company uses cameras to inform public of blocked railroad crossings
ELKHART, Ind. — Newly installed cameras that automatically feed real-time information to a website are helping first responders and the general public know when trains are occupying grade crossings near the northern Indiana town of Goshen, Ind., near Elkhart. BlockedCrossings, a private company, recently installed eight cameras at intersections in and south of Goshen, Ind., […]
U.S. rail traffic shows weekly gain
WASHINGTON — After two weeks in which weekly U.S. rail traffic numbers showed major swings because of the Thanksgiving holiday, the latest numbers are back to normal — which is to say, showing a nominal overall increase. Statistics from the Association of American Railroads for the week ending Dec. 7 show U.S. railroads moved 520,894 […]
Alstom edges toward completion of Acela order
HORNELL, N.Y. — Alstom has produced 270 units of its Amtrak order for 28 Acela Avelia Liberty trainsets and expects to see the 160-mph trains inaugurated in spring 2025, four years after the railroad had planned to introduce the premium Northeast Corridor service. That was the forecast offered by Alstom officials last week during a […]
Legislator seeks to block federal funding for California high speed rail
WASHINGTON — A Northern California member of Congress said he will introduce legislation to prevent further federal funding for California’s high speed rail project, a target of two advisors to President-elect Donald Trump. U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Roseville, Calif.) said in a press release that the legislation would make the project ineligible for additional federal […]
Central Oregon & Pacific will operate nearly 28 miles of Union Pacific trackage under lease deal
WASHINGTON — Genesee & Wyoming short line Central Oregon & Pacific will lease and operate nearly 28 miles of Union Pacific trackage in the Eugene, Ore., area as part of its deal to take over the Class I railroad’s local switching operations. Details about the transaction, which was announced yesterday, appeared in a regulatory filing […]
NJ Transit awards contract for major bridge project
NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit’s board of directors has awarded the construction project for the lift portion of the new Raritan River Bridge, which will replace a 116-year-old swing bridge on its North Jersey Coast Line. Skanska Koch Inc. of Carteret, N.J., was selected for the project. The contract is worth a maximum of $444.4 […]
Kolluri confirmed as new CEO of NJ Transit
TRENTON, N.J. — Kris Kolluri, a former chairman of the NJ Transit board, will become the agency’s new CEO, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has announced. The current board unanimously confirmed the nomination at its meeting today (Dec. 11). Kolluri will serve for the remainder of Murphy’s term, which ends in January 2026. His selection […]
Traffic growth will flow from Pan Am track and service improvements, CSX says
WASHINGTON – CSX has nearly completed track and signal upgrades on the former Pan Am Railways, which the Class I says has improved service and will jump-start traffic growth in New England. When CSX acquired Pan Am for $600 million in 2022, the threadbare 1,700-mile regional railroad’s former Boston & Maine and Maine Central routes […]
CPKC acquires ‘new’ power
Just shy of two years after the CPKC merger, the Class I railroad has purchased its first “new” locomotives. The eight General Electric ET44ACs were originally an order for Baffinland Iron Mines located on Baffin Island in Canada. The new-build mine project to haul iron ore to seaport via rail has been delayed many times, […]