Jim Vena, Union Pacific Chief Operating Officer Canadian National OMAHA, Neb. — Jim Vena is Union Pacific’s $9 billion man. No, that’s not how much Vena will earn as the railroad’s new chief operating officer. Under the terms of his contract, he’ll earn a base salary of $600,000 and will be eligible for an annual […]
Western Maryland Scenic 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 in the shop last September at Ridgeley, W.Va. Trains: Jim Wrinn CUMBERLAND, Md. — Western Maryland Scenic Railroad Executive Director John Garner in a video update posted Wednesday said the railroad’s restoration of Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 is proceeding at a pace now that the line will […]
Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway No. 576 is seen here minutes after it was moved out of its shed Wednesday morning, Jan. 9. Ralcon Wagner NASHVILLE — After months of anticipation, railroad historians and steam preservationists watched as Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway 4-8-4 No. 576 was carefully moved onto a temporary track […]
MARCO ISLAND, Florida – BNSF Railway’s capital plans for 2019 include a cluster of major bridge projects in Washington state, and pairs of bridges near Quenemo, Kan., and on the Hannibal subdivision in Missouri. Not included is a bridge over the Missouri River at Bismarck, N.D., and therein lies a tale that serves an an […]
Matt Rose, BNSF Railway Executive Chairman TRAINS: David Lassen The criticism BNSF Railway Executive Chairman Matt Rose leveled at the other Class I railroads regarding their Precision Scheduled Railroading operating plans has been greeted by silence. None of the other five big systems — each of which is running or shifting to an operating plan […]
MARCO ISLAND, Fla. – Canadian National’s “very ambitious capital program” for 2019 include up to 105 miles of new double track, said Jim McLeod, the railroad’s chief engineer for structures, design, and construction, in a Tuesday presentation at the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association Conference. Up to 75 miles of the new double track […]
The former Greenville Yard is shown in yellow just north of Staten Island. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey website NEW YORK — The former Pennsylvania Railroad’s Greenville (Bayonne) yard is no more. As of Monday, the storied yard became Global Container Transport Bayonne ExpressRail Port Jersey. The name change crowns a $149-million […]
Jim Vena, Union Pacific chief operating officer Canadian National OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific has named former Canadian National executive Jim Vena as its chief operating officer, effectively putting a protege of E. Hunter Harrison in charge of its transition to Precision Scheduled Railroading. Vena, 60, served as CN’s chief operating officer from February 2013 […]
How did your favorite railroad fare in traffic growth last year? Probably about the same as every other railroad. Five of the big six Class I systems ran neck-and-neck and ended 2018 with 4-percent traffic growth, according to a review of the railroads’ Association of American Railroads weekly carload reports for the final week of […]
Bartow, Ga. Google Maps BARTOW, Ga. — Residents in a southern Georgia town are returning to their homes this morning now that officials say they’re not at risk from a derailed freight train with chlorine-filled tank cars. Norfolk Southern confirms that a train derailed shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday near Bartow, about 150 miles southeast […]
A Metra Electric train approaches the Matteson station on a coach-yard track as maintenance equipment works on the main line in 2017. Metra’s 2019 capital budget includes $54.6 million for track and structures. David Lassen MARCO ISLAND, Fla. – Metra has been cash-starved for a long time. But if that changes, the Chicago-area commuter rail […]
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Commercial Railway and two other companies are receiving awards totaling $1.5 million from the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Rail Service Improvement Program. The agency said it had received nine applications totaling more than $4.5 million for rail service improvement projects. The three selected projects were based on the impact […]
