ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern’s service has deteriorated over the past six weeks amid crew shortages and operational changes, according to shippers and connecting railroads. Some expressed concern that the railroad is teetering on the brink of a meltdown as train speed falls, cars spend more time in yards, and a rising number of trains per day […]
MOBILE, Ala. — In a filing with the Surface Transportation Board earlier this month, CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern asserted the railroads’ freight operation will suffer a “catastrophic meltdown” if Amtrak is allowed to add two daily passenger round trips between New Orleans and Mobile. Yet the 277-page “opening evidence” document by the two carriers […]
WASHINGTON – The $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill President Biden is slated to sign into law today (Monday, Nov. 15) contains funding for a study of Class I railroads’ use of ever-longer trains and their impact on safety, grade crossings, freight and passenger service, and the environment. The measure provides up to $2 million for the […]
SAVANNAH, Ga. — The second portion of the Port of Savannah’s Mason Mega Rail Terminal is now in operation, increasing intermodal capacity at the port by more than 30%. The second phase of the project adds nine new tracks to nine that opened in 2020 as part of a project that, overall, has added more […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has scheduled hearings on three major issues: the CSX acquisition of Pan Am Railways; Amtrak’s bid to operate trains between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., and its reciprocal switching proposal. All three hearings will be held in the hearing room at the STB’s Washington headquarters, with additional specifics to […]
WASHINGTON — BNSF Railway and Canadian National have raised issues with federal regulators’ timeline for review of the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger. BNSF, in a filing posted today on the Surface Transportation Board’s website, said the 90-day comment period was insufficient given the ramifications of how the merger would affect traffic moving between […]
WASHINGTON – Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern will have to study the environmental impacts of their proposed merger, the Surface Transportation Board said today. The railways will have to prepare an environmental impact statement partly due to projected increases in rail traffic on several line segments, most notably on CP’s former Milwaukee Road line […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National has committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, becoming the first North American railroad to do so by joining the Business Ambition for 1.5°C and United Nations Race to Zero campaigns. “CN’s pledge to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 further builds upon our commitment to short-, medium- and long-term targets, […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — Light rail service on the O-Train Confederation Line resumed Friday morning after a 54-day shutdown triggered by a Sept. 19 derailment. Operations resumed with just seven trainsets in operation, and with the bus route that had replaced the light rail service continuing to operate during the period of partial operation, CTV News […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – CSX Transportation will comply with federal COVID-19 vaccine regulations by the Jan. 4 deadline, CEO Jim Foote said today. Although CSX requires new hires and management employees to be vaccinated, the railroad has not yet decided whether it will issue a mandate for unionized employees, spokeswoman Cindy Schild says. CSX has offered financial […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has opened its new headquarters building in Atlanta following a Wednesday ceremony featuring Gov. Brian Kemp, Sen. Raphael Warnock, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, NS employees, and city civic and business leaders. The 750,000-square-foot building is on a 3.4-acre campus in Tech Square, featuring two glass towers connected with a campus-style hub; […]
WASHINGTON — Weekly U.S. rail traffic remains stuck in a pattern it has displayed since August, with an increase in carload traffic more than offset by a drop in intermodal volume, leaving overall traffic below 2020 levels. For the week ending Nov. 6, the specifics — as reported in the latest statistics from the Association […]
