CHICAGO — GATX Corp. is growing its locomotive lease fleet by 30% with the recent purchase of 156 locomotives from Progress Rail. “The acquired fleet is predominantly four-axle 1,500- and 2,000-hp locomotives such as GP38-2s and MP15s, which are core to GATX’s operating lease business. A limited number of high-horsepower six-axle locomotives, including nine SD70ACes, […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has reached a tentative agreement with its final general committee SMART-TD union that represents conductors. SMART-TD (the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division) is the largest labor union on NS, and two of its three general committees on the railroad had already backed tentative contract deals. […]
DARIEN, Conn. — Arielle Giordano has joined Genesee & Wyoming Inc. as the vice president of government and industry affairs for its U.S. operations, the company announced Tuesday, Sept. 3. Giordano most recently was assistant vice president of U.S. government affairs for CPKC, addressing government relations at the federal, state, and local levels. She held […]
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte City Council has voted to purchase 22 miles of a Norfolk Southern rail line for a long-discussed commuter rail project, and to seek a 1-cent sales tax increase to pay for a transportation plan including the Red Line project. In a vote this evening (Tuesday, Sept. 3), the council voted […]
KINGSPORT, Tenn. — It’s official: The CSX Santa Train will make its 82nd run on Saturday, Nov. 23. Following its traditional path taken through Appalachia since 1943, the train will embark on a 110-mile journey from Shelbiana, Ky., to Kingsport, Tenn., spreading an abundance of holiday cheer while delivering more than 15 tons of toys, […]
WASHINGTON — The 13-mile San Luis Central Railroad will be acquired by the owner of connecting short line Colorado Pacific Rio Grande Railroad, according to regulatory filings. Colorado Pacific San Luis Railroad LLC (CXSL), a non-carrier, has filed a notice of exemption to acquire and operate the San Luis Central from milepost 2.0 at Sugar […]
The general chairmen representing the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen on Norfolk Southern have criticized tentative contract agreements that the railroad has reached with nine unions — and say they’ll never support a similar deal for engineers. The SMART-TD union that represents conductors was among the unions to reach tentative contract deals with NS. […]
With their Powder River Basin coal volumes down by more than 22% this year — and 58% below the peak of 2008 — is it time for BNSF Railway and Union Pacific to consider rationalizing capacity on their primary coal-hauling routes? Not yet, the railroads say. In the heart of the Wyoming coal fields, BNSF […]
SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, France — Alstom has completed the sale of its North American signal business to German’s Knorr-Bremse, the French firm announced Monday, Sept. 2. The sale, for approximately $690 million, had been announced in April [see “Alstom sells North American signal business …,” Trains News Wire, April 19, 2024]. It covers the conventional portion of […]
POLLEGGIO, Switzerland — More than a year after a freight train derailment inflicted extensive damage, the Gotthard Base Tunnel — the world’s longest rail tunnel — fully resumed regular operations today, ending an extensive, and expensive, period of repairs and reroutes for one of Europe’s main north-south rail arteries. For the first time since August […]
Back for the first time in a while, here’s some weekend recommended reading — rail news and features from various media outlets: — The website Urban Milwaukee reports on an ambitious/unrealistic (take your pick) proposal for a privately developed commuter rail system that would serve 32 stations in a five-county area around Milwaukee, using existing […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation announced on Friday, Aug. 30, that it had reached five-year tentative labor agreements with two more unions. That increases its total to agreements with 11 unions covering 15 work groups and amending 20 collective agreements, CSX said, covering more than 50% of its unionized workforce. The latest agreements are with […]
