Last month Trains sat down with Stefan Loeb, Norfolk Southern’s vice president of first and final mile markets, to discuss how local service can help the railroad grow. The position was created in April, when Loeb joined NS from shortline holding company Watco, where he was chief commercial officer [see “Norfolk Southern names intermodal and […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific’s freight car and locomotive inspection and maintenance practices pose a “significant risk to rail safety,” the head of the Federal Railroad Administration said in a letter sent Friday to top railroad executives. FRA Administrator Amit Bose said the agency conducted a focused inspection of UP’s mechanical operations and rolling stock in […]
WASHINGTON – The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a safety advisory calling on railroads to use wheel impact load detectors to properly identify and replace freight car wheels that could significantly damage track and lead to derailments. The advisory was issued yesterday in response to the Feb. 21 derailment of a Union Pacific coal train […]
WASHINGTON – A pair of Genesee & Wyoming short lines have detailed their plans to test Parallel Systems’ autonomous, battery-electric intermodal cars in an application filed with the Federal Railroad Administration. Last month G&W and Parallel announced that they were seeking FRA permission to conduct the tests next year on the Heart of Georgia Railroad […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – CSX Transportation today named Mike Cory as its chief operating officer, a role he held at Canadian National from 2016 until his retirement in 2019. “Mike Cory is one of the rail industry’s leading operations executives, respected for his wealth of operations knowledge and his success as a leader who understands the […]
Public rail travel AUSTRIA – When marketing public transportation to new patronage, especially when it comes to rail travel, sometimes promotions must include thinking outside the box. That’s exactly what happened during two summer festivals in Austria as free KlimaTicket passes were given to six participants in exchange for a specific tattoo. The promotion was […]
SAVANNAH, Ga. – CSX Transportation and the Georgia Ports Authority have teamed up for daily international intermodal service between the Port of Savannah and Rocky Mount, N.C. The railroad and port authority said that the service would enable North Carolina importers and exporters to tap into a faster supply chain through the direct rail connection […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic slumped 4.3% in August, with both carload and intermodal volume showing declines, according to the Association of American Railroads. “August was the third straight month in which total year-over-year U.S. rail carloads have fallen,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “A major reason why is that other than […]
WASHINGTON – Shippers who suffer from inadequate railroad service would be able to gain access to a second carrier under a new reciprocal switching rule that the Surface Transportation Board proposed today. The board unanimously voted to approve the 51-page notice of proposed rulemaking, which it said would provide a streamlined path for access to […]
MINNEAPOLIS — Chromatic 3D Materials has begun providing 3D-printed components to be used on rail equipment in Europe. A partnership with the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) resulted in the production of bellows, grommets, cable glands, and valve covers, according to a recent statement from Chromatic. “At Chromatic, we take pride in the durability of our […]
ATLANTA – Norfolk Southern has invested $8 million in DrayNow as part of a joint venture to improve the intermodal drayage experience for truckers and customers. DrayNow’s app for mobile devices provides customers with real-time shipment tracking and connects small fleet owner-operators with brokers who need first- and last-mile drayage service – in much the […]
LOCARNO, Switzerland — The trains are new, modern, run on time, and everyone uses them to go everywhere. Clearly, I’m not at home. In fact, and as the dateline has given away, I am in Switzerland. This is night two of my second trip here, this time a three-week adventure. And while I am badly […]
