MONTREAL — Watco will buy 650 miles of branch lines in Wisconsin and Michigan from Canadian National, along with 250 miles of the company’s Soo Subdivision in Ontario, the companies announced today. In Ontario, where it acquires the line between Sault Ste. Marie and Oba, Ont., Watco will provide freight operations and continue the […]
A major wine shipper has located its facilities almost exclusively on short line railroads with access to two Class I systems as a way to ensure better local service and more competitive rates. G3 Enterprises, which handles shipping for 28 of the top 30 wineries in the U.S., operates regional distribution centers in nine states. […]
Additional Wedesday morning rail news: Chaffee County, Colo., joins group sharing legal fees over Tennessee Pass fight Chaffee County, Colo., has agreed to join a group which will split legal fees resulting from an effort to block reactivation of Union Pacific’s Tennessee Pass rail line. The Vail Daily reports Chaffee County commissioners voted Tuesday to join […]
Tuesday morning rail news: Ontario short line train derails, demolishing vehicles, shed A reported runaway situation led to the derailment of a Goderich-Exeter Railway train on Monday in Goderich, Ontario, CTV News reports, demolishing a tractor-trailer, pickup truck, and shed before coming to a halt. An officer of the Ontario Provincial Police told the news […]
Tuesday midday rail news: S.C. Ports Authority seeks funds to improve rail access to Port of Charleston The South Carolina Ports Authority is seeking $550 million in funding from state legislators to improve rail and barge access to the Port of Charleston, the only major East Coast port without near-dock rail access. The State newspaper reports the […]
Still more Monday morning rail news: Former FRA administrator Batory joins R.J. Corman board Ronald Batory, whose term as administrator of the Federal Railroad Adminstration ended concluded with the change of presidential administrations in January, has been named to the board of directors of the R.J. Corman Railroad Group. Batory’s 46-year career in the railroad […]
Friday morning rail news: Montreal’s REM begins testing of Alstom light rail trainsets The first trainsets for Montreal’s Réseau express métropolitain light rail system have begun testing, REM reports on its Facebook page. The agency says tests will continue over the next few months between its Brossard station and Milan Boulevard. Alstom is building 106 two-car […]
WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board will review several issues surrounding Colorado, Midland & Pacific’s proposed lease of Union Pacific’s long-dormant route over Tennessee Pass. The board’s decision, released today, indefinitely postpones what is normally a 30-day clock that covers deals between short lines and Class I railroads. Under U.S. law, railroad transactions fall into […]
More Wednesday morning rail news: CP derailment knocks out power in Field, B.C. The community of Field, B.C., was at risk of running out of electricity Tuesday night after a Canadian Pacific grain train derailed earlier in the day, knocking out power. The CBC reports the train derailed about 1:40 a.m., taking out a power line. CP […]
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Winchester & Western, the 100-mile short line with trackage in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey, was able to grow last year despite the pandemic. Traffic on the railroad, which short line holding company OmniTRAX acquired in September 2019, was up a shade over 9% last year. That was below railroad […]
More Tuesday morning rail news: OmniTRAX names Piacente as new CEO Short line and transportation company OmniTRAX has named Dean Piacente as its new CEO, effective Feb. 1. Piacente has more than 20 years’ experience as a commercial executive at CSX Transportation, and brings more than 30 years of financial planning, analysis, and expertise in […]
Friday morning rail news: Executive order requires masks on trains, transit, other modes of transportation President Joe Biden has signed an executive order mandating use of face coverings on trains, public transit, planes, intercity busses, and in airports, the Washington Post reports. The newspaper says that order and one signed Wednesday requiring masks on federal […]
