FRA report on East Palestine derailment differs slightly from NTSB analysis

Fire along railroad track at derailment site

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration’s report on the Norfolk Southern hazardous materials derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, reached the same conclusions as the National Transportation Safety Board’s broader and more exhaustive probe. But the FRA report, released on Friday afternoon, did contain some key differences. First, the FRA did not comment on the post-derailment […]

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Global tech outage largely bypasses freight and passenger railroads

Passenger train at station with pedestrian walkway above tracks

U.S. and Canadian railroads appear to be relatively unaffected by the global tech outage that grounded flights and disrupted businesses today, although Union Pacific and Canadian Pacific Kansas City did experience some computer issues. “The CrowdStrike software outage has had varying levels of impact across Union Pacific’s network,” spokeswoman Clarissa Beyah said on Friday morning. […]

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Canada’s labor minister to resign

Portrait photo of man in suit

OTTAWA, Ontario — Canada’s labor minister, Seamus O’Regan, announced today (Thursday, July 18) that he is stepping down from that position and will not seek reelection to parliament. His resignation from the cabinet position is effective Friday, but he will continue to serve as an MP from the St. John’s South-Mount Pearl riding in Newfoundland […]

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House subcommittee sets hearing on rail safety

Trains Washington Watch logo

WASHINGTON — A subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure has scheduled a hearing on rail safety for Tuesday, July 23. The Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials will hold the session, “Examining the State of Rail Safety in the Aftermath of the Derailment in East Palestine, Ohio,” at 2 p.m. ET […]

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U.S. weekly rail traffic remains above 2023 levels

Weekly table showing U.S. carload rail traffic by commodity type, plus overall intermodal volume

WASHINGTON — U.S. weekly rail traffic continues to run ahead of 2023 levels, thanks to intermodal volume, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. For the week ending July 13, total U.S. volume was 483,806 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 1.3% over the same week in a year ago. That includes […]

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Reading & Northern adds to coal management team

Green and yellow locomotives on train of hopper cars

PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Reflecting the railroad’s 60% increase in coal business over the last two years, the Reading & Northern Railroad announced it has made changes to its management structure to better deal with that growth. Eric Peters, currently vice president, transportation, will also manage the railroad’s coal fleet. The 2,000 cars, including aluminum […]

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Iowa county looks at Pop Up Metro rail proposal

Two-car orange and gray railcars

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Officials in Johnson County, Iowa, will consider the Pop Up Metro rail transit system for a proposed service between North Liberty and Iowa City, the Cedar Rapids Gazette reports. A group of elected and other officials will make a trip in August to Rockhill Furnace, Pa., where Pop Up Metro has […]

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Del Mar fairgrounds votes to oppose rail tunnel proposal

Map of potential rail tunnels in Del Mar, Calif.

DEL MAR, Calif. — The organization that oversees the Del Mar Fairgrounds on Monday formalized its opposition to a proposal to build a rail tunnel beneath the fairgrounds, saying the plan could end a proposal to build affordable housing on the property. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the 22nd District Agricultural Association board voted unanimously […]

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