Europe’s biggest rail freight companies are facing major challenges in 2024, despite efforts by politicians to encourage more freight movement by rail and less by road. In some countries, new ownership or new companies are challenging established operators and providing business opportunities for smaller companies. In most of Europe, the biggest rail freight company is […]
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You know it’s been a big news year when the first merger of Class I railroads in more than two decades — and likely the last — is judged the No. 3 story of 2023. In a typical year, Canadian Pacific’s $31 billion acquisition of Kansas City Southern would have topped the headlines. The Surface […]
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BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will suspend service on a portion of the light rail Green Line for two extended periods in January, while also scheduling service outages for the ongoing repairs on the Green Line extension. From Jan. 3-12 and again from Jan. 16-28, Green Line service will be suspended on the Green […]
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SALINA CRUZ, Mexico — For the second straight week, Mexico has inaugurated passenger service on a new rail line. On Friday, operations began for the Interoceanic Railroad, a 188-mile route connecting Coatzacoalcos, on the Gulf of Mexico, with Salina Cruz, on the Pacific Coast. It is the key piece of the Interoceanic Corridor of the […]
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WASHINGTON — Amtrak has issued a formal Request for Proposals for replacement of its bilevel long-distance railcar fleet, outlining requirements for what it says will be a multi-billion-dollar order for equipment projected to enter service in the early 2030s. The document, which outlines for manufacturers requirements for coach seating, sleeping cars, food service, and accessibility, […]
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WASHINGTON — The actions of an improperly licensed truck driver were the probable cause of a fatal grade-crossing collision involving a Metra commuter train in Clarendon Hills, Ill., in May 2022, with the trucking company’s inadequate safety policies contributing to the incident, the National Transportation Safety Board has determined in its final report. The incident […]
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WASHINGTON — The Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, railroad gateways to Mexico remained closed for a fourth straight day today — and there was no indication when freight might begin moving again despite a phone call today between President Joseph Biden and his Mexican counterpart. Biden spoke with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador […]
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WASHINGTON — As the shutdown of the Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, rail gateways enters its third day, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has given no indication of when it will allow freight traffic to resume. Customs officials closed the gateways — the second and third busiest rail border crossings — at […]
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WASHINGTON — The temporary shutdown of the U.S.-Mexico railroad border crossings at Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, has thrown a kink into supply chains that demand reliability. Eagle Pass and El Paso are the No. 2 and No. 3 rail gateways by volume, respectively. Union Pacific says the closure has prompted it to place […]
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WASHINGTON – A new short line is seeking regulatory approval to build a rail and highway bridge over the Rio Grande at the Eagle Pass, Texas, gateway. Green Eagle Railroad, a subsidiary of Puerto Verde Holdings, aims to build a new 19.12-mile secure cross-border corridor that includes 1.335 miles of double track between Union Pacific’s […]
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CANCÚN, Mexico — The first section of Mexico’s Tren Maya, or Maya Train — a tourism project on the country’s southeastern tip championed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador — is slated to open today (Friday, Dec. 15), just five years after it was announced and years ahead of initial projections. But the project remains […]
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SOMIS, Calif. — Five people were taken to hospitals for treatment after a Los Angeles-bound Amtrak Pacific Surfliner hit a truck at a grade crossing Tuesday, Dec. 12, derailing the train’s cab car. KABC-TV reports the collision occurred about 6:20 p.m. near the intersection of Sand Canyon Road and State Route 118 between Somis and […]
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