LOMBARD, Ill. — A lot has happened since Class I railroads averted a strike in 2022. CEOs and other officials at the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers Winter Meeting were happy to point to progress in labor relations. Which is good, because — believe it or not — the whole national contract process is about […]
LOMBARD, Ill. — Notes from Day 1 of the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers Winter Meeting: Border battle Union Pacific found itself involved in headlines not of its own making in December when U.S. Customs and Border Protection shut down border rail gateways at Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, quickly throwing U.S-Mexico rail traffic […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern partnered with 62 customers to complete industrial development projects worth $3.1 billion last year, the railroad said. “Norfolk Southern worked with customers and economic development partners to facilitate broad-based industrial development in 2023 and set the stage for growth in 2024,” NS Chief Marketing Officer Ed Elkins said in a statement […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern on Thursday released its inaugural Climate Transition Plan, which calls for significant improvements in fuel efficiency and increased use of renewable energy and biofuels. “Reducing the environmental impact of our operations is driven by our commitment to a cleaner and better planet for our employees, our customers, and our communities for […]
Norfolk Southern’s disastrous hazardous materials wreck in East Palestine, Ohio — which put the railroad industry’s safety record under a withering spotlight — is Trains News Wire’s top story for 2023. The Feb. 3 derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border likely was caused by the catastrophic failure of a wheel bearing on a covered hopper carrying […]
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Completion of work to relocate rail routes through Springfield, as well as building of a new transit center to be used by Amtrak, will be pushed back after the project did not receive any federal funding in 2023, the State Journal-Register reports. The U.S. Department of Transportation turned down a $138 million […]
NEW SALEM, Ill. — Clean-up is continuing, but Norfolk Southern expected to have its line reopened Wednesday evening following a 20-car derailment Tuesday, Dec. 12, on its main line west of Springfield, Ill. The Quincy Herald-Whig reports the derailment did not involve any hazardous materials. KQHA-TV reports the incident was reported to authorities at 11:44 […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has selected 10 projects for grants under its Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail grant program, according to a list released today (Friday, Dec. 8) on the FRA website. The U.S. Department of Transportation announced the grants in a press release that linked those awards with the selection of […]
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board is calling for backup cameras on maintenance-of-way machinery, as well as other safety recommendations, as a result of a fatal accident involving a Norfolk Southern track gang at Reed, Pa., in December 2021. The NTSB issued its final report on that accident on Thursday (Dec. 7). The probable […]
Norfolk Southern’s Bristol Line, departing from the mainline at Walton, Virginia, west to Bristol is a vital cog in the Class One railroad’s system. Originally, the Norfolk & Western mainline routed from the coast at Norfolk to a connection with the Southern Railway at Bristol. These days the route handles a lot of freight moving […]
SAVANNAH, Ga. — The Georgia Ports Authority Board has approved spending $127 million to build the Blue Ridge Connector, an inland rail terminal in Gainesville, Ga., linking Northeast Georgia with the Port of Savannah’s 35 global container ship services. The facility will open in 2026 and serve a region important for the production of heavy […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern is installing Wabtec’s Yard Planner system at Norris Yard in Irondale, Ala., as part of an effort to improve the hump yard’s efficiency and make service more consistent. “Norfolk Southern is the first Class I railroad to implement Yard Planner and we are already seeing greater consistency of car movement,” Joe […]
