SHELTON, Neb. — Fifteen cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Friday evening near Shelton, Neb., temporarily closing the railroad’s main line on the Kearney Subdivision. The Grand Island Independent reports the derailment occurred about 5:45 p.m. about a mile west of Shelton along U.S. Route 30. No injuries were reported, and no hazardous materials […]
Let’s set aside the railroad industry’s current bout of temporary service problems and discuss something more important. Class I railroads’ local service — which ranges from OK to downright embarrassing — for years has been where the rubber meets the road. Shippers divert rail shipments to trucks when a local regularly fails to show up, […]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Russia’s self-inflicted economic recession resulting from the Ukraine war will likely undo more than a decade’s worth of economic progress, as other countries end dealings with the Russians. For the U.S., this is an opportunity to increase exports, bolstering its relevance as a swing supplier. Coal and grains in particular are commodities […]
WASHINGTON — A Norfolk Southern conductor killed in a February 2019 accident in Baltimore was riding on the side of a car in a close-clearance area — contrary to rules prohibiting such an action — when he was pinned between his train and a car on an adjacent track, according to a National Transportation Safety […]
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Officials of the Port and City of Long Beach held a golden spike ceremony Thursday to mark the completion of a project to increase intermodal moves by rail from the port. The $34.7 million Pier G/J Double Track Access Project adds 8,000 feet of second-main trackage, allowing four terminals in the […]
WASHINGTON — Utilities are worried that the slowdown in coal deliveries could threaten U.S. electricity supply and destabilize the power grid. Chemical producers say erratic rail service has forced them to curtail production of essentials like chlorine used to treat public drinking water systems and the plastics used in medical products. And one of the nation’s […]
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs has awarded a grant toward a $1.9 million project for a warehouse and other improvements at Watco-served Port Birmingham. The Birmingham-Jefferson County Port Authority is contributing $1.1 million toward project, which includes a 25,000-square-foot warehouse and improvements to attract other commodities requiring indoor storage. […]
EL PASO, Texas — About a dozen cars of a Union Pacific train derailed early Wednesday morning in central El Paso, KTSM-TV reports. The derailment occurred underneath a bridge where Cotton Street meets Interstate 10 at about 2:45 a.m. Cars involved included grain cars and some empty tank cars, a railroad representative told the station. […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic showed a significant slide for the second consecutive week, with overall volume down 7.4% from the same week in 2021. Statistics from the Association of American Railroads show 498,011 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending April 23, 2022. That includes total carloads, down 4.5%, and 268,976 containers and […]
Minneapolis & St. Louis 2-6-0 310, power for the Marshalltown–Story City, Iowa, mixed train, switches at Roland, the biggest source of traffic on the 38-mile Story City branch line, in the late 1940s. William F. Armstrong photo […]
WASHINGTON — There were more questions than answers on Tuesday as federal regulators sought ways to remedy railroad service problems that defy a quick fix because they are rooted in a shortage of train crews. Shippers told the Surface Transportation Board that rail service has deteriorated, with delays mounting as transit times have in some […]
Railroads will not replace each coal hopper with a flat car of windmill blades, but America’s commitment to increasing its use of renewable energy is altering the relationship between railroads and energy. Whether through the transportation of raw materials, intermodal, or network capacity, renewables will affect railroads’ business because of how it is interwoven in […]
