Former Kansas City Southern CEO David Starling, who returned to the railway as its independent trustee as part of its proposed merger with Canadian Pacific, died on Feb. 24. Starling was 73. “On behalf of the entire Kansas City Southern family, we feel shock and profound sadness for the sudden loss of our former leader […]
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KYIV, Ukraine — Memorial stones and plaques are common at railway stations around the world, commemorating rail history, anniversaries, or rail employees who died in service. On Feb. 24, at the central station in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, a new memorial was unveiled to the 353 Ukrainian railway workers who had been killed during the first […]
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EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Removal of hazardous waste from the site of a Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine is slated to resume today (Monday, Feb. 27), after being paused Saturday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over concerns regarding the moves by residents, as well as those in locations that were receiving the waste. […]
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VOLGA, W.Va. — Allegheny Metallurgical Coal, a new company to be served by both CSX Transportation and Appalachian & Ohio, moved its first train of high-grade metallurgical coal earlier this month. The company, located along U.S. Route 119 between Buckhannon, in Upshur County, and Philippi, in Barbour County, moved the first train Feb. 8. Its […]
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WASHINGTON — A lack of markers warning of a close-clearance situation was the probable cause of a fatal accident involving a BNSF Railway conductor in La Mirada, Calif., on March 3, 2021, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a final accident report issued late last week. The conductor was killed during a shoving move […]
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SALT LAKE CITY — The company planning to build Uinta Basin Railway will seek $1.9 billion in private activity bonds to help finance construction of the 88-mile railroad in Utah, with the help of the government agency supporting the project, the Colorado Sun news site reports. Those funds would cover 70% of the cost of […]
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OMAHA, Neb. — A hedge fund, arguing that Union Pacific ranks dead last in every important operating metric, has asked the railroad’s board of directors to replace current CEO Lance Fritz with former Chief Operating Officer Jim Vena. Soroban Capital, which has a $1.6 billion stake in UP and ranks among its top 10 investors, […]
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DES LACS, N.D. — BNSF’s main line across North Dakota was fully reopened Saturday evening after a Friday morning derailment, the railroad says in a customer advisory. One track of the main line near Des Lacs, about 14 miles west of Minot, N.D., reopened on Saturday at 5:25 a.m. CST; the second track reopened at […]
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OMAHA, Neb. — BNSF Railway’s pre-tax earnings declined 1.9% in 2022 due to a combination of lower volume and higher costs, the railroad’s parent company, Berkshire Hathaway, reported on Saturday. BNSF’s revenue was up 11.9% for the year, to $25.2 billion, reflecting an 18.9% increase in average revenue per car/unit, including the impact from higher […]
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WASHINGTON — In their latest bid to delay the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, four members of the Illinois congressional delegation have cited the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment as a reason the Surface Transportation Board should subject the merger to further review. In a letter to STB Chairman Martin J. Oberman dated Thursday, Feb. 23, […]
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MINOT, N.D. — BNSF’s northern transcontinental main line is currently blocked after an early-morning derailment of an intermodal train near Des Lacs, N.D., approximately 14 miles west of Minot. A customer advisory on the BNSF website says the derailment occurred about 3:36 a.m. CDT today (Friday, Feb. 24). The Dakotan website quotes Karter Lesmann, chief […]
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MIAMI, Fla. — CSX Transportation must rely on volume growth – not cost cutting – to boost profits and earnings over the long term, CEO Joe Hinrichs told an investor conference this week. “There’s only so much more you can squeeze out of the operating side of this business,” Hinrichs says. The CSX CEO’s remarks […]
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