EMERYVILLE, Calif. — The eastbound California Zephyr is shown above as it pulls into its originating station at Emeryville at 12:13 p.m. Sunday after being serviced at Amtrak’s Oakland Maintenance facility. It departed at 12:31 p.m., more than 3 hours late, after the equipment arrived on its westbound counterpart at 1:57 a.m., 9 hours, 47 […]
PHOENIX — There is A LOT going on in terms of capital projects for CSX Transportation — enough that Ed Sparks, the railroad’s chief engineer, bridges, design & construction — had no problem running well past his scheduled 25-minute slot Saturday at the National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association Conference. Rest assured the audience did […]
PHOENIX — Along with participation by six Class I railroads and a number of other entities, the National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association Conference that concluded Saturday featured presentations from three major short line companies. Here’s an overview. Genesee & Wyoming The largest of the short line holding companies, with 116 properties in North America […]
PHOENIX — The start of construction on of a long-delayed intermodal facility will highlight Canadian National capital work in 2022, after the railroad completed several major projects in 2021. Martita Mullen, the railroad’s senior manager, design and construction, provided a review of the 2021 work and preview of 2022 on Friday at the National Railroad […]
PHOENIX — Extreme weather and natural disasters took a broad toll on railroads in 2021, and BNSF Railway was certainly not exempt. “All of us in the industry,” said Craig Rasmussen, BNSF’s assistant vice president, engineering services and structures, “have realized that Mother Nature is not a nice lady. Sometimes she is really tough to […]
PORTLAND, Ore. – Heavy rains in the Pacific Northwest caused a mudslide near Kelso, Wash., on Thursday morning that temporarily shut down BNSF Railway’s main line between Portland and Seattle. BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent tells Trains News Wire, “The mud slides north of Kelso have impacted both freight and passenger service. Our crews have been […]
NEW YORK – New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Wednesday announced plans to move forward with the Interborough Express as part of her 2022 State of the State address. The Interborough Express project would use the existing right-of-way of the Bay Ridge Branch, a freight rail line that runs through Brooklyn and Queens, connecting the neighborhoods […]
PHOENIX — Siding extensions and intermodal-terminal upgrades highlight the capacity-improvement aspects of Norfolk Southern’s 2022 capital spending plan, as outlined Thursday by the railroad’s vice president of engineering, Ed Boyle. The railroad has not yet announced its full capital spending plan for 2022, after spending about $1.6 billion in 2021. But plans for infrastructure work […]
PHOENIX — Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz isn’t sure what direction the Surface Transportation Board will take as it considers rules for reciprocal switching, but says the decision poses real risks for the rail industry. Speaking Thursday in a “Fireside Chat” at the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association Conference, Fritz termed the proposed rule […]
WASHINGTON – Canadian Pacific today won Amtrak’s support for its proposed merger with Kansas City Southern after CP and Amtrak reached a deal to expand passenger service in the Midwest and South. CP agreed to more frequent Amtrak service on the Hiawatha route linking Chicago and Milwaukee, as well as extending the corridor to St. Paul, […]
PHOENIX — Union Pacific is nearing agreements to purchase battery-electric locomotives for tests in yard use, CEO Lance Fritz says, with plans to try the locomotives in one cold-weather location and one warm-weather site. “We think you can get an 8-hour shift out of a properly designed [battery-electric],” Fritz said during a short conversation with […]
PHOENIX — Never underestimate the value of experience and institutional knowledge. That’s one of the many lessons from Union Pacific’s Dry Canyon Bridge reconstruction project in 2022. The project, which replaced a major fire-damaged trestle in Northern California in 2021 — about a month faster than was originally projected — has been much discussed and […]
