Canadian Pacific shutdown begins in Canada (updated)

Canadian Pacific Railway beaver logo

CALGARY, Alberta — With each side blaming the other, a dispute between Canadian Pacific and the union representing 3,000 train crew members and yard workers has led to a halt of the railroad’s operations in Canada. Canada’s Minister of Labor, Seamus O’Regan, confirmed the stoppage had begun in a Twitter post at 12:01 a.m. EDT […]

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STB seems likely to move ahead with a new reciprocal switching rule

Woman with glasses in office

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators seem likely to impose a new reciprocal switching rule that would open up more carload traffic to competition between Class I railroads. During two full days of hearings that wrapped up on Wednesday night, the Surface Transportation Board was sympathetic to shipper complaints about a combination of high rates and poor […]

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Metra opposes CP-KCS merger in regulatory filing

Passenger train passing wooden passenger station

WASHINGTON — Chicago-area commuter rail operator Metra has come out against the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, telling the Surface Transportation board in a 946-page filing that the merger would bring delays, prevent expansion of service, raise safety issues, and increase Metra’s infrastructure costs. The communter operator also says its traffic modeling indicates the operating […]

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Traffic density data issue snags regulatory review of CP-KCS merger

Surface Transportation Board logo

WASHINGTON – Federal regulators have asked Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern to explain a discrepancy in the baseline traffic figures they use as part of their merger application.  The railroads provided one set of traffic density data for the merger application itself and another set for the Surface Transportation Board’s environmental analysis. CP and […]

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BNSF, J.B. Hunt to expand intermodal capacity

BNSF Railway logo

FORT WORTH, Tex. — Longtime partners BNSF Railway and J.B. Hunt today said they will significantly boost intermodal capacity in the next few years by adding containers, chassis, and well cars while expanding terminals and their capabilities.  “Over the past few years, intermodal has been disrupted by increased demand and tight capacity, resulting in poor […]

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Railroads and shippers argue over reciprocal switching proposal

Surface Transportation Board logo

WASHINGTON — Railroads and shipper groups squared off over a proposed reciprocal switching rule during a daylong Surface Transportation Board hearing on Tuesday, with railroads warning of dire operational consequences and sole-served shippers saying they needed relief from high rates and poor service. Federal regulators seemed sympathetic to shippers’ concerns but grappled with how they […]

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AAR’s research and testing subsidiary renamed ‘MvX Rail’

Logo of MxV Rail

PUEBLO, Colo. — The Association of American Railroads is rebranding its research and technology subsidiary as “MvX Rail,” the AAR announced today. The subsidiary had previously been known as Transportation Technology Center Inc., or TTCI — a name that became problematic and a source of some confusion when the Federal Railroad Administration granted a lease […]

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Railroads say unions’ request to end mediation is premature

Logo of the National Railway Labor Conference

ARLINGTON, Va. — The organization representing railroads in bargaining with labor over a new national contract is disputing a request by unions to move the process from mediation to arbitration, saying the two sides have not yet reached an impasse. The statement issued Friday by the railroad group, the National Carrier’s Conference Committee, was responding […]

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