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CHICAGO — Metra’s plan to convert at least three of its oldest F40PH-3 diesel locomotives to battery power is on hold after the commuter operator was “not able to secure an agreement” on a contract, Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski said Friday. Derwinski, responding to a question during a joint presentation with South Shore President/General […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific has become the second Class I railroad to reach an agreement offering paid sick days to some employees, the railroad has announced. “Union Pacific remains committed to addressing our employees’ concerns and signed a deal with the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers (NCFO) and Brotherhood of Railway Carmen (BRC),” […]
ORLANDO, Fla. — Brightline has received the last of the 10 trainsets for its Florida operation, and the last of the five ordered for its upcoming expansion of service to Orlando. The “Bright Orange 2” train arrived at the company’s Vehicle Maintenance Facility in Orlando on Sunday, Feb. 19, after a 10-day trip from the […]
FRONTENAC, Quebec — The town of Frontenac has voted in resounding fashion against the planned bypass to remove Canadian Pacific’s rail line from Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, but the results of the referendum apparently will not change the plans for the project. The CBC reports 92% of those in the community of 1,600 who cast ballots in […]
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — East Broad Top Railroad’s freshly restored 2-8-2 Mikado locomotive No. 16 delighted admirers over the weekend by pulling a full schedule of eight passenger trains and two photo freights for the road’s annual Winter Spectacular. All trains were sold out. The event was a landmark in several ways. First, No. 16 […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will ask Congress to increase the maximum fine for railroad safety violations, Buttigieg said Sunday in a letter to Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw. In another development stemming from the Feb. 3 derailment and fire of a NS train in East Palestine, Ohio, the chair of the Senate […]
PHOENIX — A bill to limit the length of freight trains in the state of Arizona has cleared its first legislative hurdle, advancing through the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Friday by a 10-0 vote with one abstention. HB 2531 would limit trains to 8,500 feet. Capitol Media Services reports that Rep. Consuelo […]
WASHINGTON — Four federal legislators from Illinois have repeated a call for the Surface Transportation Board to delay a decision on the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger until the STB undertakes a separate assessment of the merger’s impact on the Chicago area. That decision could come as soon as the end of this month. The […]
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw made his second visit to East Palestine today (Saturday, Feb. 18), visiting the ongoing cleanup from the Feb. 3 derailment and chemical release, as well as meeting with Mayor Trent Conaway, U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, and other officials. WBKN-TV reports Shaw said the controlled release of […]
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan tried to reassure residents during a Thursday visit to the area concerned about the aftereffects of the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train, saying he would feel comfortable returning to the area based on results of ongoing air and water testing. “I […]
BELLEVILLE, Mich. — A Norfolk Southern train derailed this morning in Van Buren Township in the Detroit area, the news site MLive reports, but a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of the Environment says “there is no environmental concern” from the incident. “Nothing is leaking,” said spokeswoman Jill Greenburg. No injuries were reported. A Facebook […]
Intermodal has long been the rail industry’s growth engine. But it hasn’t been firing on all cylinders in recent years. Yes, 2018 was a record-setting year for volume, and 2021 was intermodal’s second-best year ever. That’s all well and good — except that intermodal hasn’t been keeping pace with economic growth and has lost market […]
