BNSF bridge on South Dakota-Iowa state line collapses

Woman standing in front of collapsed railroad bridge and flooding-swollen river

NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. —  A portion of a BNSF Railway bridge connecting North Sioux City, S.D., and Sioux City, Iowa, collapsed Sunday night, as heavy rains and flooding continue to take a toll on the area. “We have been monitoring the region through our increased track inspections and had not been operating over the […]

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Federal government issues final rule requiring railroads to provide hazardous-material information to first responders

Black cloud of smoke above town

WASHINGTON — The federal government has issued its final rule requiring railroads to provide real-time electronic information on hazardous material to first responders in the event of a derailment or other incident. The rule from the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is one of many regulatory actions spurred by last year’s […]

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BNSF Railway adds wind screen on bridge in Abo Canyon

FORT WORTH, Texas – BNSF Railway’s engineering crews have added a 1,300-foot wind fence to block the pesky prevailing wind on a bridge in Abo Canyon on its Southern Transcon in New Mexico. The Clovis Subdivision bridge, at milepost 874.2 near the west end of the canyon, experiences more severe winds due to the terrain, […]

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British project will convert diesel locomotive to steam power

Eversholt logo

LONDON — A British company has announced plan to convert a 1980s diesel locomotive to a prototype of a zero-emission steam powered unit. Rail equipment leasing firm Eversholt Rail Group said earlier this month it would convert a British Rail Class 60 locomotive, a C-C unit built by Brush Traction, in a partnership with Steamology, […]

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BNSF Railway’s automotive facilities recognized with awards

BNSF Railway logo

FORT WORTH, Texas – BNSF Railway announced two of its automotive facilities, operated by service partner Inter-Rail Group, were recognized as some of the best in North America by the Association of American Railroads. The awards were accepted recently at the Damage Freight Prevention Convention in Minneapolis. In a news release dated June 11, 2024, […]

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Amtrak defends management bonuses, omits customer-facing deficiencies in website presentation: Analysis

Passenger train at station with pedestrian walkway above tracks

WASHINGTON — Responding to criticisms from members of Congress in a House hearing last week, Amtrak has posted a 14-page PowerPoint presentation aiming to justify a controversial incentive system that pays millions of dollars in bonuses to company executives. Board Chairman Anthony Coscia said the compensation of senior executives would be posted on the Amtrak […]

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Weekly U.S. rail traffic remains ahead of 2023 levels

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

WASHINGTON —Weekly U.S. rail traffic continued to show overall gains compared to 2023 in the latest statistics from the Association of American Railroads, thanks to the strength of intermodal volume. For the week ending June 15, overall traffic was 493,138 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.4% increase over the corresponding week a year ago. That […]

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Alabama port authority votes to help fund Amtrak service

Aerial view of railyard under cloudy skies with city skyline in distance

MOBILE, Ala. — A once-unlikely source — the Alabama State Port Authority — has agreed to provide a share of the funding needed to launch Amtrak service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. On Tuesday, the Port Authority board, once a vehement opponent of Gulf Coast service on the grounds it might interfere with freight […]

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