SMART-TD ratifies new five-year national agreement

Logo of SMART-TD union

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division has ratified the five-year collective bargaining agreement reached with railroads represented by the National Carriers Conference Committee. The tentative deal had been announced in September [see “SMART-TD reaches national tentative agreement …,” Trains.com, Sept. 16, 2025]. The agreement, covering SMART-TD […]

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Sunset for a Union Pacific branch line train

Three yellow diesel locomotives roll through green fields at sunset

This Union Pacific branchline  train heads home at sunset near Platte Center, Nebraska on Aug. 22, 1988. The train — the Norfolk local returning to Columbus with a little bit of everything in tow — was a common enough sight at the time. The well-maintained motive power includes three, four-axle locomotives. The lead unit is […]

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Andersen EMD SW1 operationally restored

Black, white, and orange diesel locomotive on a turntable.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Transportation Museum volunteers have returned a 1949 EMD SW1 diesel locomotive to operation. The unit was built for the Wabash Railroad and later sold to window-maker Andersen for switching at its Bayport, Minn., plant. “It started with a hinge,” says Tim Nelson, one of the volunteers who led the project, […]

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US weekly rail traffic continues downward trend

Weekly table showing U.S. carload rail traffic by commodity type, plus overall intermodal volume. This week's stats show an overall decline of 3.8%

WASHINGTON — U.S. weekly rail traffic remains below 2024 levels for the third straight week — and the sixth time in eight weeks — with both carload and intermodal traffic showing declines. According to figures from the Association of American Railroads for the week ending Oct. 25, total traffic was 499,688 carloads and intermodal units, […]

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SEPTA asks for more time for Silverliner IV inspections

Men in high-visibility safety clothing looking at equipment under commuter railcar

PHILADELPHIA — The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has asked the Federal Railroad Administration for more time to complete inspections of its Silverliner IV car fleet, a SEPTA spokesman said today (Oct. 29, 2025). Public broadcaster WHYY reports that the SEPTA has asked for an additional two weeks to complete the inspections of the 223 Silverliner […]

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CPKC profits rise on higher volume and revenue

CPKC train in Canadian Rockies

CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific Kansas City reported higher quarterly profits on Wednesday as volume and revenue both increased despite ongoing economic uncertainty and trade tensions in North America. “CPKC once again created profitable, sustainable growth in the third quarter, while navigating challenging macroeconomic conditions,” CEO Keith Creel said in a statement. “Through our powerful […]

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CSX changes financial and commercial leadership

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX CEO Steve Angel has made changes to the executive team a month after arriving at the railroad. Kevin Boone, the railroad’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, today was named chief financial officer, replacing Sean Pelkey, who departed the company. Maryclare Kenney was promoted to senior vice president and chief […]

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Why modern trains lack traditional signal lights

A diesel locomotive with a red and white striped nose rounds a curve in a forested rock cut

Soon after the first railroad bought the second locomotive it became apparent that some rules of the road were needed. There had to be a way to keep a following locomotive from running into the one ahead and to prevent head-on collisions when locomotives are moving toward each other on a single track. In the […]

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Mount Washington Cog Railway rescues hikers

red diesel-powered cog railway train heading up mountain.

MOUNT WASHINGTON, N.H. — It was the Mount Washington Cog Railway to the rescue on Saturday, Oct. 25. The railroad transported more than 20 hikers, who were not prepared for conditions, from atop New Hampshire’s Mount Washington back to the base of the mountain. A number of the group were showing signs of hypothermia when […]

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