HOMEWOOD, Ill. — Canadian National will spend $485 million on capital projects in eight states as the U.S. portion of its capital plan for 2022, the railroad has announced. Overall, the company will spend more than C$2.6 billion on its capital program. It had previously announced almost C$2 billion in Canadian projects [see “CN announces […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic in June was down 3.2% from 2021 levels, providing mixed indicators about the state of the nation’s economy, according to the Association of American Railroads. The June figure included a 1.5% decline in carload traffic and a 4.6% drop in intermodal units. “As conjecture grows about the direction of the […]
BRIDGEPORT, N.J. — SMS Rail Services, perhaps best known to enthusiasts as the operator of a roster of Baldwin diesel locomotives that work on several rail switching operations, is preparing to enter the passenger excursion business on its newest line acquisition. SMS, established in 1994 to serve the large Pureland Industrial Park in Bridgeport, N.J., […]
OTTAWA — The Government of Canada has announced two actions to address the impact of climate change on railroads — one regarding fire prevention, and the other to address efforts to make infrastructure resilient to issues such as flooding and landslides. The fire-prevention rules, effective during the April 1-Oct. 31 fire season, require railroads: — […]
You might enjoy these four railroad themed novels on your summer travels. Rene Schweitzer details these four works of fiction that you may have overlooked. The Christmas Train David Baldacci Genre: Fiction First published: 2004 Journalist Tom Langdon, due to an “incident” at an airport, is banned from flying commercial airlines and takes Amtrak […]
MONTREAL — The strike in Canada by members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers against Canadian National Railway has ended. CN announced Monday that the union, which represents about 750 signal and communications workers, has agreed to binding arbitration, bringing an end to the strike at 12:01 a.m. EDT today (July 5, 2022). Those […]
WASHINGTON — As part of their review of the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, federal regulators will consider requests for conditions from Canadian National and Norfolk Southern. The Surface Transportation Board on July 1 said that it has accepted the so-called responsive applications from CN and NS. CN has asked the board to force CP […]
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego area will receive $300 million from the new California state budget for a plan to relocate the Surf Line inland from the Del Mar bluffs, a contribution a regional official called “a critical down payment” on a project estimated to cost $2.5 billion or more. The San Diego Union-Tribune […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has directed Union Pacific to continue providing priority service and reports on that service for a California feed and poultry company under an emergency order issued in June. In a ruling Friday, the board ordered that while subsequent UP service has mitigated the “dire emergency” faced by Foster Farms […]
RICHMOND, Va., and ATLANTA — The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority and Norfolk Southern have completed financing on the agreement which will expand passenger service to Roanoke, Va., and extend service southwest into the New River Valley. The Western Rail Initiative Agreement sets the stage for the launch of a second daily Amtrak round trip between […]
WASHINGTON — The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association has recognized a record number of railroads with its annual Jake Safety Awards, announced last week. A total of 364 railroads received awards for performing at or above the industry average for Federal Railroad Administration-reportable injuries, including 332 honored “with distinction” for having no reportable […]
BENNET, Neb. — A BNSF Railway spur line is expected to be out of service for three weeks after a bridge collapsed as a result of a coal-train derailment Thursday evening. The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office said 18 cars were involved in the derailment, which occurred about 5 p.m. BNSF spokesman Ben Wilemon told the […]
