NIIGATA, Japan – East Japan Railway Co. is testing autonomously operated bullet trains in Niigata Prefecture as it studies introducing trains without engineers (called drivers in Japan) in the future, Kyodo News reported. The test, the first of its kind for the Shinkansen bullet train network, began Oct. 29, and was opened to the media […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Franklin Park crossovers separate Canadian Pacific and Metra moves
FRANKLIN PARK, Ill. — It’s not the largest or most essential component of a decades-long, $4.6 billion dollar effort to unclog Chicago’s rail network called CREATE. But completion of the $14.5 million Metra/Canadian Pacific Crossover Upgrades Project is typical of incremental improvements that sporadic funding achieves. Six crossovers and associated signaling now allow Canadian Pacific […]
First Stadler DMU for San Bernardino County departs factory
SALT LAKE CITY — The first of three diesel multiple-unit trainsets for use in Southern California has left Stadler’s Salt Lake City factory. The low-floor FLIRT trainsets for the San Bernardino County Transit Authority will run on a 9-mile line between the San Bernardino Transit Center and Redlands, Calif., providing a connection to existing Metrolink […]
Canadian National defends intermodal growth strategy
MONTREAL — Canadian National executives defended their intermodal growth strategy today, saying it’s the best way to compete with trucks and bring new profitable traffic to the railway over the next decade. Activist investor TCI Fund Management, which has launched a proxy fight to replace CEO JJ Ruest and four board members, has been critical […]
The Trains Interview: Western Maryland Scenic’s Wesley Heinz, Part I
First of two parts CUMBERLAND, Md. – It’s been about five months since New England rail preservationist Wesley Heinz took the top spot as interim chief and then permanent executive director of the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad in Cumberland. Prior to migrating to Cumberland, Heinz was the executive director of the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad […]
Rail service in British Columbia halted by flooding (updated)
HOPE, British Columbia — Flooding battering the province of British Columbia has disrupted rail service, as well as forcing evacuations and washing away highways. The CBC reports Canadian Pacific’s line through the Fraser River Canyon has been closed because of flood damage north of Hope, B.C., and that a Canadian National train derailed because of […]
CSX building Transflo terminal at site of Tilford Yard in Atlanta
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — When CSX Transportation CEO Jim Foote ordered the hump bulldozed at Tilford Yard in December 2017, he proclaimed, “Atlanta hump yard today is flat. There is no turning back.” But there is moving forward: CSX is building a transload center on a portion of the former site of Tilford Yard, one of […]
CSX, CP named to Dow Jones Sustainability Index (updated)
CSX Transportation and Canadian Pacific Railway have been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for North America, reflecting the railroads’ strong scores in environmental, social, governance, and economic measures. For CSX, the only U.S.-based railroad on the index, it is the 11th consecutive year of being so honored. Canadian Pacific is on the list […]
Norfolk Southern service deteriorates amid crew shortages
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 […]
Analysis: CSX, NS guard status quo in Gulf Coast filing
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 […]
Railroads’ use of long trains to go under the microscope
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 […]
Port of Savannah opens second part of Mason Mega Rail project
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 […]
