BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Norfolk Southern has donated $450,000 to Children’s of Alabama, helping the hospital more than double the size of its pediatric intensive care unit and add two simulation training manikins. NS CEO Mark George presented the donation to the Birmingham hospital at a Nov. 14 press conference. The news site Bham Now reports […]
WASHINGTON — Trump administration proposals to eliminate two sources of federal funding for mass transit have drawn sharp criticism from two transit advocacy groups. The proposals were reported by Politico Pro on Nov. 14 in a paywalled article, citing internal Department of Transportation memos obtained by the news site. One calls for ending an account […]
CHICAGO — Confidence was not in short supply when Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena held a rolling news conference last week to tout UP’s proposed acquisition of Norfolk Southern. “I’m 99.999% sure that this merger is going to go through,” Vena said on Wednesday from the back of the Fox River theater car as UP’s […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway and CSX have expanded their intermodal partnership with the launch today (Nov. 17, 2025) of faster interline service linking Los Angeles with the Ohio Valley and points in the Northeast. The new service from BNSF’s Hobart terminal to CSX destinations improves transit time by anywhere from 22 to 52 […]
OMAHA, Neb. — The Brotherhood of Railway Carmen and Union Pacific have reached an agreement that provides job security for hundreds of union employees if UP’s $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern wins regulatory approval. The BRC is the third union to reach an agreement with Union Pacific that ensures union members employed at both […]
MIAMI — Florida East Coast Railway’s lawsuit against Brightline — over Brightline’s efforts to develop commuter rail service in South Florida — has been stayed until the two parties can meet to discuss arbitration. Public broadcaster WLRN reports Miami-Dade County Circuit Court Judge Robert Watson granted the stay on Thursday, Nov. 13. Brightline is seeking […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak ridership grew 5% in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2025, and revenue surged 11%, as robust Northeast Regional gains offset fewer Acela frequencies on the Northeast Corridor. The railroad carried nearly 34.5 million passengers, while ticket revenue was $2.764 billion. The results from the company’s monthly performance reports for 2025 are […]
CHICAGO — Metra’s board of directors has approved a $1.2 billion operating budget for fiscal 2026, eliminating the commuter rail operator’s previously planned fare increase as well as a planned $60 million transfer of operating funds to its capital program. The capital plan for 2026 is budgeted at $515.3 million. The transit bill passed by […]
WASHINGTON — The attorneys general from nine states have asked the Surface Transportation Board to give Union Pacific’s proposed acquisition of Norfolk Southern a thorough review, arguing that the merger will stifle competition, raise rates, and hurt manufacturers and agricultural producers. “An America First economy will not work if high internal shipping costs kneecap American […]
PHILADELPHIA — The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has completed inspections of its Silverliner IV electric multiple-unit railcars, the agency says, but the amount of Regional Rail equipment available will remain significantly constrained until cars can be repaired. SEPTA originally faced an Oct. 31 deadline for inspection of the 233-car fleet following a series of fires, […]
CHICAGO — Some projects of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency, or CREATE, program are begun and completed with relatively limited fanfare. That is certainly not the case with the Forest Hill Flyover, which carries the tracks of CSX Transportation over lines used by Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, the Belt Railway of Chicago, and […]
PHILADELPHIA — The owner of an Indiana masonry firm has been sentenced to 7½ years in prison for his part in a long-running case involving bribery and fraud in the renovation of Amtrak’s 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. Mark Snedden, 70, of Munster, Ind., was sentenced on Oct. 1 to 90 months in prison, a […]
