Short line association resumes in-person meetings with two regional events in June The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association will resume in-person meetings with two regional gatherings in June: The Central/Pacific Region meeting will be held June 7-9 at the Downtown Marriott in Kansas City, and the Eastern/Southern Regional Meeting will be June 21-23 […]
TrucTrain terminal The Pennsylvania Railroad’s Chicago TrucTrain terminal had a concrete ramp with six tracks and access platforms between pairs of tracks. Note the storage tracks for empty flatcars at left. Photo by Pennsylvania Railroad […]
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Beginning Monday, May 17, VIA Rail Canada will begin operating its flagship train, the Canadian, across its full route from Vancouver to Toronto. The train has been operating between Vancouver and Winnipeg, Manitoba. The first westbound trip from the Ontario city is set for Sunday, May 23. Service will continue to operate […]
Three Siemens Venture coaches and two Charger locomotives depart Chicago on Monday, April 12, for Effingham, Ill. The cars will test through through Thursday of this week, evaluating the new equipment’s ability to effectively shunt electric current between rails on Canadian National’s former Illinois Central trackage. Since 2006, the railroad has imposed a minimum axle […]
Will Canadian Pacific’s proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern be the spark that ignites the final round of railroad consolidation in North America? It’s a question that’s been coming up since CP and KCS announced their blockbuster $29 billion deal on March 21. Most analysts agree that CP+KCS won’t lead to the creation of two […]
Any way you look at it, Canadian Pacific’s proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern is a blockbuster deal. It creates the first railroad to link the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. It gives shippers from both railroads more single-line service options. And it will boost competition – with other railroads and, more importantly, trucks – in […]
All of the big six Class I railroads notched volume gains in the first quarter as robust intermodal growth overcame slight declines in carload volume. Intermodal volume is on a tear as retailers aim to keep store shelves and online order fulfillment centers full due to consumers spending more on goods than services during the […]
Rail worker safety makes NTSB’s ‘Most Wanted List’ of transportation improvements A goal of improving rail worker safety is among the 10 items landing spots on the National Transportation Safety Board’s 2021-22 Most Wanted List of transportation safety improvements, finalized during a Tuesday NTSB board meeting. “Board members of the NTSB and our advocacy team […]
Produce to the people Chicago and other large cities had produce yards and team tracks where dozens or hundreds of cars would arrive each day for auction and sale to local buyers. Photo by Chicago & North Western […]
Third trick — the midnight to 8 a.m. shift — could be a long, quiet time for railroad telegraph operators. Although during the summer months it gets light long before third trick is over, in winter, most of the shift is worked in darkness. One night during World War II at the isolated station of […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific has resisted an activist investment firm’s push to allow shareholders to have an annual non-binding vote on the railroad’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. London-based TCI Fund Management, which has investments in Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, and UP, contends that a company’s greenhouse gas emissions will have an impact […]
WASHINGTON — It’s back to the drawing board for Rio Grande Pacific’s plans to lease and revive Union Pacific’s long-dormant route over Tennessee Pass in Colorado. The Surface Transportation Board on Thursday rejected the exemption that Rio Grande Pacific sought for the transaction. Under board rules, small deals such as a lease or sale of […]
