Will the persistent low water levels in the Panama Canal and ongoing attacks on ships bound to and from the Suez Canal wind up diverting international container traffic to West Coast ports? Railroad executives think so, although most say a shift in international intermodal volume has yet to materialize. The drought in Panama has prompted […]
WASHINGTON — In the latest twist in a long-running Chicago interchange dispute, federal regulators yesterday ruled that it’s unreasonable for Canadian National to unilaterally designate the Belt Railway of Chicago’s Clearing Yard as the location where it will exchange traffic with rival Canadian Pacific Kansas City. It’s the second time that the Surface Transportation Board […]
Bunge, an agricultural company, has become the first shipper to join the RailPulse freight car telematics joint venture. “By joining RailPulse as the first railcar-owning shipper, we are taking a proactive step toward driving positive change and digital transformation within the rail shipping industry,” Terry McDermott, director of supply chain – North American Rail at […]
WASHINGTON — The 180-day nationwide safety blitz that the Federal Railroad Administration conducted in the wake of the Feb. 3, 2023, hazardous materials derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, found that railroads’ track, equipment, and processes were generally in compliance with federal regulations. But the FRA, outlining its findings in a report released last week, did […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation has extended a $31.4 million Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing loan to the Sierra Northern Railway and Mendocino Railway for infrastructure improvement work, DOT’s Build America Bureau announced on Monday. Funding will finance almost 100% of work including expansion of 6.7 miles of Sierra Northern’s Oakdale Branch for […]
BERN, Switzerland — The long-term future of Switzerland’s historic Gotthard Pass rail line, which has been in question since the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in 2016, has been assured with the decision of the Swiss government and Swiss Federal Railways, or SBB, to spend some 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.16 billion) to renovate […]
Norfolk Southern, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and the SMART-TD union will participate in the Federal Railroad Administration’s Confidential Close Call Reporting system, or C3RS, the railroad and labor unions said in a joint statement today. “NS is proud to partner with our labor leaders and FRA to make another industry-leading advancement in […]
WASHINGTON — Nine rail-related projects were included among the 37 receiving funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation through Mega Grant and INFRA Grant program funding announced on Friday. Two projects — including one from the rail-related group — received grants under both programs. The Mega Grant program — formally the National Infrastructure Projecg Assistance […]
NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit has cancelled a controversial natural-gas power plant designed in part to provide emergency power for rail lines, saying the project is “not financially feasible,” and will reallocate federal grant funds to other projects, the transit agency announced on Friday. The TransitGrid Microgrid Central Facility in Kearny, N.J., would have generated […]
WASHINGTON — NASA on Friday awarded a contract to Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. of McLean,Va., for maintenance and operation of incident-reporting programs the space agency runs for other federal organizations, including the Federal Railroad Administration’s Confidential Close Call Reporting System. The contact also covers the Aviation Safety Reporting System for the Federal Aviation Administration. Both […]
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will nominate Patrick J. Fuchs to serve another term on the Surface Transportation Board, the White House announced this week. Fuchs joined the board in January 2019. Previously, he was a staff member for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, where he worked on legislation including 2016’s first […]
ATLANTA – Norfolk Southern service and safety improved in the fourth quarter, but higher operating costs, lower revenue, and the impact of ongoing expenses related to the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment dragged down earnings. “Last year was historically challenging, with a major derailment to start off the year, followed by network disruptions and compounded by […]
