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WASHINGTON — After a lengthy delay sparked by filings in opposition to the deal, the Surface Transportation Board has approved Watco’s purchase of about 650 miles of branch lines in Wisconsin and Michigan from Canadian National-owned Wisconsin Central. “After careful consideration of all comments received, the board finds that the issues raised do not demonstrate […]
NAPTON, Mo. — About 40 cars of a Union Pacific manifest train derailed Sunday at the grade crossing with County Road E in Napton, the railroad reports. The accident occurred about 4 a.m.; the train crew was not injured. The cars involved carried a mix of commodities, with at least one carrying wheat. UP crews […]
Seven operating session tips will help model railroaders step back from, or maybe step into, their layout by sharing the experience with others. For starters, operation gives a model railroad purpose. A layout compares with a theater’s stage, its props the scenery and rolling stock. In an operating session, this stage springs to life, re-creating […]
MONTREAL — Jim Vena, the former Canadian National chief operating officer who was touted as the railway’s next CEO, told CN Sunday night that he was no longer interested in the job. “The Search Committee conducted multiple rounds of interviews with former CN employee Jim Vena and the Board engaged in appropriate due diligence with respect […]
Precision Scheduled Railroading has become a target for members of Congress, federal regulators, shippers, and rail labor. Hunter Harrison’s low-cost operating model — in place on all of the Class I railroads except BNSF Railway — has come under criticism as rail traffic has rebounded from pandemic lows. Intermodal terminals faced monumental congestion this summer. […]
DAVENPORT, Iowa — Officials in the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, have told the Surface Transportation Board that increased traffic from the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger will have “very real and detrimental impacts,” with Davenport’s mayor and aldermen asking that an STB member visit before the board acts to see how the […]
ORANGEVILLE, Ontario — GIO Rail operated the final train on the 34-mile Orangeville-Brampton Railway on Dec. 17, 2021, ending service on a line dating to 1879. The final train departed Orangeville for Streetsville, Ont., at about 9:15 a.m., with about 100 people on hand, following a brief ceremony and photo opportunity including GIO President Gerry […]
SYCAMORE, Ga. — Some 14 cars of a Norfolk Southern intermodal train derailed Friday near Sycamore, closing an adjacent highway. No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were involved. Turner County Fire/Emergency Management Agency reported U.S. 41 had been blocked by the derailment, which occurred about 7:30 a.m. Friday. Part of the route was […]
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s State Transportation Commission has approved $33 million in spending for 25 projects to improve freight rail operations in the state, Gov. Tom Wolf announced last week. Eleven railroads, as well as shippers and local government agencies, will receive state funding in amounts ranging from $87,000 to $9 million for track improvements, […]
The new Sherman Hill line in 1953 was Union Pacific’s latest improvement over the massive undertaking of building and maintaining a transcontinental railroad begun about 90 years earlier. Since the first surveyors ventured into the uplands west of Cheyenne in 1865, the Union Pacific has been waging intermittent war against the geography of southeastern Wyoming. […]
NEW YORK — A Long Island Rail Road dispatcher supervisor and dispatcher have been disciplined after being found asleep on the job by investigators from the Office of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Inspector General. A report by Inspector General Carolyn Pokorny says the office received a tip that overnight dispatchers were turning off the lights […]
OTTAWA — Transport Canada has announced changes to track inspection rules increasing the frequency of inspections in some areas, as well as rules governing use of automated track-inspection technology. The rules announced by Transport Minister Omar Alghabra will increase the frequency of track inspections in higher-risk areas where trains travel at greater speeds while carrying […]
