OTTAWA, Ontario — Thousands of truck drivers have descended on Canada’s Parliament in recent days, clogging the streets of the Canadian capital and blocking U.S.-Canadian border crossings in response to a Jan. 15 government vaccine mandate requiring truckers returning from the U.S. to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccine. Dubbed the “Freedom Convoy,” and originating […]
GATINEAU, Quebec — Failure of a key component caused a coupler to fall from a rail car, triggering a 22-car derailment in New Brunswick in January 2021, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in a report issued Tuesday. The board also cautioned that if design of such components is not reassessed based on changes […]
How to rerail a freight car: When things go bang that shouldn’t on the railroad, it usually means trouble and most likely a derailment. Derailments are a fact of life, and when one occurs on a main line of a Class I railroad, it usually results in many cars on the ground with extensive media […]
WASHINGTON – Chicago’s Metra will receive a $513.6 million from the American Rescue Plan fund, announced U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. The funds will help the commuter agency maintain service and keep workers on the payroll as it continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. “Public transportation has helped people reach their jobs […]
Canadian National shocked the railroad world this week with the selection of Tracy Robinson, a Canadian energy executive and former Canadian Pacific official, as its next CEO. The surprise came mostly from the fact that she is not a marquee name in railroad circles and has been out of the industry for eight years. But […]
LOMBARD, Ill. — Carrie Evans, vice president and chief commercial officer of Iowa Interstate Railroad, was elected president of the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers at the organization’s winter meeting earlier this month. She succeeds Stefan Loeb of Watco, who remains one of the organization’s officers as immediate past president. “I look forward to the […]
CALGARY, Alberta – Other Class I railroads should not be able to use the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger process as a way to improve their competitive positions, CP CEO Keith Creel says. BNSF Railway, Canadian National, and Norfolk Southern have sought concessions related to the merger, which is currently under review at the U.S. […]
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific’s fourth-quarter earnings declined due to a combination of harsh weather, a smaller Canadian grain crop, and costs related to the Kansas City Southern merger. CEO Keith Creel said on the company’s earnings call Thursday afternoon that while railroading is an outdoor sport, the extreme conditions in November and December tested the […]
WASHINGTON — Rail traffic continues to lag behind 2021 levels in the early stages of 2022, according to weekly statistics from the Association of American Railroads. For the week ending Jan. 22, 2022, overall U.S. rail volume was 477,462 carloads and intermodal units, a 9.8% drop from the same week in 2021. Through three weeks […]
WASHINGTON — Short line holding company R.J. Corman plans to operate 154 miles of Norfolk Southern branches through a combination of acquisitions and leases in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia. R.J. Corman’s Knoxville & Cumberland Gap Railroad will acquire 112 miles of NS lines, including the Jellico Line from Clinton, Tenn., to Lot, Ken., and from […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern on Wednesday reported record fourth-quarter and full-year operating income as well as a record low operating ratio. CEO Jim Squires said the railroad hit or exceeded the three-year financial targets set in 2019 when NS adopted a Precision Scheduled Railroading operating model. “Through a multiyear effort, we delivered on our commitments, […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern service will improve this spring as crew shortages ease and the railroad rolls out a new operating plan, executives said on Wednesday. “Our service quality was significantly below where we needed it to be” in the fourth quarter due to ongoing crew shortages on several portions of the NS system, Chief […]
