Berkshire & Eastern proves good service drives growth: Analysis

Pat Ottensmeyer, the late Kansas City Southern chief executive, had a favorite saying: Service begets growth. It’s not the most catchy phrase you’ll ever hear. But it’s true. And nowhere is that more apparent than in New England, where Genesee & Wyoming’s Berkshire & Eastern is growing a bumper crop of freight in the middle […]

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Railroads debate merits of mergers and alliances

NEW YORK — BNSF Railway, Canadian National, and Canadian Pacific Kansas City are touting interline partnerships as a way to gain new volume without having the regulatory and service-meltdown risks associated with a merger. But Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern say alliances are built on a foundation of sand, and can shift with the whims […]

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Three state attorneys general voice support for UP-NS merger

Freight train led yellow locomotive with Chicago skyline in background

WASHINGTON — Attorneys General in three states — including the headquarters states of both railroads — have announced their support for the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger. In a Nov. 20 letter to Surface Transportation Board Chairman Patrick J. Fuchs, Attorneys General Chris Carr of Georgia, Mike Higlers of Nebraska, and J.B. McCuskey of West […]

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Canadian government announces $6 billion in infrastructure funding

Transport Canada logo

BRAMPTON, Ontario — Canadian government officials today have announced the creation of two trade infrastructure funds, backed by Ca$6 billion over seven years, that the government says will double the nation’s non-U.S. exports and create access to new global markets. In an event at Canadian National Railway’s Brampton intermodal terminal, Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon and […]

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RailTrends opens with sharp debate over UP-NS merger

Yellow and black locomotives leading train of tank cars

NEW YORK — Rail industry officials focused on only three topics during the opening day of the RailTrends conference: Merger, merger, and merger. Union Pacific’s proposed $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern dominated conversations and presentations on Thursday. Can the plan to create a transcontinental railroad win regulatory approval? Can it lead to volume growth […]

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Railroad CEOs to highlight MARS Winter Meeting

Mars logo

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — The CEOs of BNSF, CPKC, and Union Pacific are among speakers scheduled to take part in the annual Midwest Association of Rail Shippers Winter Meeting, set for Jan. 13-15 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel. Registration is available here, and is $395 through Dec. 12, $450 thereafter, and $500 at the […]

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Short line association to participate in STB review of UP-NS merger

American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association logo

WASHINGTON — The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association has informed the Surface Transportation Board that it intends to participate in the review process of the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger, although the organization has not indicated what position it might take. Short lines are individually and collectively are working to determine how the […]

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Weekly U.S. rail traffic down again

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

WASHINGTON — Slumping intermodal traffic continues to keep weekly U.S. rail traffic below 2024 levels. For the week ending Nov. 15, 2025, U.S. volume was 493,880 carloads and intermodal units, a 4.5% decline from the same week a year ago. The total included 223,101 carloads, down 0.2%, and 270,779 containers and trailers, down 7.7%. It […]

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Third-quarter intermodal volume remains ahead of 2024 levels

Double-stack train with three orange-fronted locomotives

CALVERTON, Md. — International container traffic helped total intermodal volume remain ahead of 2024 levels in the third quarter of 2025, according to the Intermodal Association of North America. Overall, intermodal volume increased by 2.8% over the same quarter a year ago. International container volume increased by 4.4%, from 2,317,879 to 2,419,908 containers, while domestic […]

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