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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Supply-chain woes stemming from COVID-19’s economic rebound have been thoroughly scrutinized in the past year, specifically the interwovenness of intermodal container rail shipments and its role in the supply chain. Trains’ Bill Stephens summarized the topic as part of 2021’s year-end countdown of major stories: “News Wire Top 10, No. 3, a […]
Modelers with small spaces, please consider the above Colorado Joint Line short train as one prototype you might want to model. Back in 2017, I was chasing trains from Denver south to Colorado Springs and Pueblo along Colorado’s famed Joint Line before a rail industry conference began. I was told something like “trains run like […]
LOS ANGELES — Seventeen cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Saturday in LA’s Lincoln Heights neighborhood, an area in which trains have been struck by widespread cargo thefts. KABC-TV reports it was told by Union Pacific that no injuries were reported and the cause of the derailment was under investigation. No information was immediately […]
PETALUMA, Calif. — The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit board has voted to for an in-house freight rail operation, while also planning to end tank-car storage that brings in some $500,000 annually. The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reports the board elected to operate the freight service it gained by buying out contract operator Northwestern Pacific [see “Bay […]
WASHINGTON — Is BNSF de Mexico a possibility? BNSF Railway, in a Thursday regulatory filing related to the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, said it may seek trackage rights on Kansas City Southern to reach the Mexican border at Laredo, Texas. The bombshell was tucked away in a footnote: BNSF will seek a concession […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak on Friday asked federal regulators to impose seven conditions on CSX Transportation’s proposed acquisition of Pan Am Railways, arguing that they are needed to protect current and future passenger service in New England. Dennis Newman, Amtrak’s executive vice president of strategy and planning, made the request during the second day of a […]
WASHINGTON — CSX Transportation executives touted their proposed acquisition of Pan Am Railways during a daylong Surface Transportation Board hearing Thursday, saying their deal to acquire the New England regional will significantly improve freight and passenger service. But board members questioned several aspects of the merger, including concerns surrounding the Pan Am Southern and CSX’s projections […]
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — A federal appeals court has struck down a state law prohibiting railroads from blocking grade crossings for more than 10 minutes, the latest state effort to run afoul of the federal government’s authority to regulate rail carriers. The Oklahoman newspaper reports that the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled earlier […]
LOMBARD, Ill. — Ian Jefferies, CEO of the Association of American Railroads, says he isn’t concerned by idea of a “dynamic” regulatory group at the U.S. Surface Transportation board. “The [STB] chairman, Marty Oberman, has made it clear that he has a new hearing room, and he wants to use it, and he likes open […]
CLEVELAND — Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation union, who work for the BNSF Railway, initiated steps to go on strike following the railroad’s announcement of its so-called “Hi-Viz” attendance policy. Collectively, the unions represent more than […]
WASHINGTON – BNSF Railway and Norfolk Southern may both seek trackage rights over Kansas City Southern routes in order to preserve competition as part of the proposed Canadian Pacific-KCS merger. The railroads disclosed their intentions in regulatory filings posted today on the Surface Transportation Board website. The board’s deadline for such responsive applications is Feb. […]
MONTREAL – Canadian National wants to acquire Kansas City Southern’s line linking Springfield, Ill., with Kansas City, Mo., and East St. Louis, Ill. CN today said it would ask the Surface Transportation Board to condition approval of the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger on divestiture of KCS’s Springfield Line. CN promises to spend at least $250 […]
