WASHINGTON – A coalition representing a broad range of rail shippers has asked the Surface Transportation Board to increase competition among railroads by finalizing rules that would permit reciprocal switching. “Given the dramatic concentration of market power in the railroad industry, rethinking policies designed for a different era is both timely and smart. Reciprocal switching […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. weekly rail traffic remains ahead of 2020 figures, although week-to-week numbers showed a slight decline, perhaps reflecting traffic disruptions by fires on the West Coast. For the week ending July 28, U.S. railroads moved 230,095 carloads (up 7.1% from the same week a year earlier), and 273,124 intermodal units (up 2.6%) for […]
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific set quarterly records for revenue, earnings, and adjusted operating ratio as second quarter volume bounced back from last year’s pandemic lows. “Behind those numbers obviously is a very impressive operating performance,” CEO Keith Creel says, rattling off a list of key metrics that improved, including train length and weight and […]
NORFOLK, Va. — Buoyed by strong volume and revenue growth, Norfolk Southern lifted its outlook for the year as it reported record second-quarter financial results on Wednesday. “We are even more confident about growth for the balance of this year,” CEO Jim Squires told investors and analysts on the railroad’s earnings call. The railroad now […]
Union Pacific’s Feather River Canyon route in Northern California has been shut down by wildfires, but the railroad says its main north-south route on the West Coast, the I-5 corridor, could reopen sooner than original estimates. Meanwhile, BNSF’s Inside Gateway route, which makes use of use of part of the UP Feather River route, also […]
Shortline savior North Carolina’s Laurinburg & Southern was a GE 70-tonner bastion in the Southeast. A pair works Dixie Guano in Laurinburg in September 1984. The GE small locomotive line enabled great savings for short lines that adopted them, keeping some of them running for years longer than if powered by steam. Jim Wrinn photo […]
CHICAGO – The North American Rail Shippers Association annual meeting, scheduled for Sept. 7-9 at the Sheraton Grand Chicago, will feature presentations from four Class I railroad chief executives. Confirmed speakers include BNSF Railway CEO Katie Farmer, Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz, Kansas City Southern CEO Pat Ottensmeyer, and Canadian National CEO JJ Ruest. Surface […]
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastruture has voiced his opposition to a voting trust while regulators consider the proposed merger of Canadian National and Kansas City Southern. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said in a Monday letter to the Surface Transportation Board that the trust would “reduce competition and prejudice […]
Norfolk Southern and Canadian Pacific have released details of their plans to address greenhouse gas emissions, with NS aiming for a 42% reduction by 2034, while CP has set a goal of reducing locomotive emissions by more than 38% by 2030, along with a reduction from non-locomotive operations by more than 27%. The NS figure […]
Union Pacific has posted photos to its Facebook, Twitter, and other social media accounts showing a firefighting train at work on the bridge at the famous Keddie Wye on its ex-Western Pacific Feather River Canyon route, with the message: “Thanks to our crews on our fire trains, working tirelessly to help control fires in northern […]
SANDUSKY, Ohio – A 3-hour-plus drawbridge failure on Sunday afternoon (July 25) halted movements on Norfolk Southern’s busy Chicago Line and stranded marine traffic on Lake Erie’s Sandusky Bay. The bridge, a 1929 double-track rolling Scherzer-type drawbridge at MP 248 between Toledo and Sandusky, Ohio, was initially stuck in an up position, observers reported. But […]
NAISCOOT, Ontario — Two crew members were reported to have suffered minor injuries when a Canadian National train derailed late Saturday, reportedly after hitting a washout. CBC News reports a CN spokesman said a locomotive and 24 empty intermodal cars derailed on Canadian Pacific’s Parry Sound Subdivision; a Transportation Safety Board of Canada representative told […]
