A moribund Norfolk Southern coal-hauling branch in Alabama last month hosted its first train in more than a decade. NS coal train 702 rumbled over the revived Berry Branch, carrying Warrior steelmaking coal to export at the Port of Mobile, Ala., via the railroad’s 3-B Corridor. “Right now it is one train a week, and […]
ATLANTA – Norfolk Southern has launched a Trades on Track scholarship program to help the railroad attract vocational students to its workforce. The $5,000 scholarships can be used for tuition, computer equipment, tools, and other expenses for people living in any one of the 22 states that NS serves. Atlanta-based SkillPointe Foundation is overseeing the […]
WASHINGTON – Amtrak said today that it has eliminated 450 management positions as it looks to cut costs and reach operational profitability by 2028. The cutback equals just over 10% of Amtrak’s management jobs, the railroad said in a memo to employees. “We took the difficult step of informing about 250 people that their positions […]
U.S. weekly rail traffic for the week ending May 3 totaled 498,693 carloads and intermodal units, up 7.6 percent compared with the same week last year, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR). Carloads totaled 225,641 units, up 5.6 percent compared to prior year, and intermodal volume totaled 273,052 containers and trailers, up 9.4 […]
Newark, N.J. — According to a joint May 7 press release, NJ Transit and its largest labor union, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), have reached a tentative contract agreement. NJ Transit is the nation’s third largest provider of bus, rail, and light rail transit, linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia. The […]
WASHINGTON – The Association of American Railroads has asked the Department of Transportation to scuttle the Federal Railroad Administration’s two-person train crew rule. “For too long, outdated, arbitrary regulations have stood in the way of implementing data-backed solutions that can further strengthen railroads’ already remarkable safety record,” AAR CEO Ian Jefferies said in a statement. […]
DALLAS – A bill advancing through the Texas legislature threatens to dismantle the public transportation system in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Dallas Area Rapid Transit said yesterday. “This bill isn’t a tweak to funding. It’s a full-on dismantling of the DART system,” said DART’s chief communications officer, Jeamy Molina. “The people of North Texas voted […]
WASHINGTON – Amtrak’s Office of Inspector General issued an investigative report to Amtrak on Tuesday that detailed the widespread scheme in which at least 119 employees conspired with New York health care providers to bilk the railroad’s health care plan of more than $12 million from 2019 to 2022. Of the 119 employees implicated, 28 […]
Amtrak will delay the start of the construction on the East River Tunnel Rehabilitation project by two weeks after learning the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) East-Bound reroute project is delayed. The three-year project calls for repairing two of the tunnel’s four tubes, which were damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, with one tube removed […]
On May 5, Congressmen John Moolenaar (R-MI), Jay Obernolte (R-CA) and Craig Goldman (R-TX) introduced the Lifting Overburdensome Commerce Obstructions and Motives Act (LOCOMOTIVES Act), which aims to limit California’s ability to place “unsustainable” regulations on trains crossing into the state. The legislation would revise Section 209 of the Clean Air Act to close a […]
Today, 327 representatives from Class Is, short lines, and railroad suppliers, contractors and associations will meet with more than 300 congressional offices during the annual Railroad Day on Capitol Hill. The annual event has continued for more than 25 years. This year, lobbyists will call on Congress to: Maintain and extend tax policies that incentivize […]
The U.S. Department of Transportation signed off on 180 infrastructure grants totaling more than $3.2 billion today, jumpstarting a series of projects aimed at improving railroads, ports, highways, airports and more. These grants had been previously announced and have now moved to the agreement stage. The Federal Railroad Administration will receive funding for several initiatives, […]
