PITTSBURGH — Wabtec Corp. has announced a “definitive agreement” to acquire Nordco, a supplier of new, rebuilt, and used maintenance-of-way equipment, from Greenbriar Equity Group LP for $400 million in cash. Nordco’s product line includes mobile railcar movers and ultrasonic rail flaw detection technologies, with equipment and services supporting North American customers ranging from Class […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s 826-page petition to the Surface Transportation Board, filed last week, is the latest salvo in efforts to establish passenger trains on routes of railroads not currently hosting service. The STB’s eventual decision could have a significant impact on what investment is required for service expansion. The filing argues Amtrak has made good […]
Transport Canada has ordered Canadian Pacific to stop leaving trains unattended without setting handbrakes near the site of 2019’s fatal runaway accident on Kicking Horse Pass after a February incident, the CBC reports, but the railroad is disputing the regulator’s assertion that the event in question constituted “an immediate threat.” In question is a Feb. […]
The Canadian Pacific acquisition of Kansas City Southern should help the railroads develop new business — including diverting truck traffic to rail — but the $29 billion deal announced on Sunday could face regulatory hurdles and opposition from shippers and other Class I systems. CP and KCS executives touted the potential for traffic growth that would […]
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern executives say combining their railroads into the first system linking Canada, the U.S., and Mexico will generate significant traffic growth across all commodities. “What a historic day,” CP CEO Keith Creel said during a Sunday afternoon investor webcast where executives touted the $29 billion deal to create […]
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific’s proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern will unite the two smallest Class I railroads and create the only North American system that will operate in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The combination of the 12,500-mile CP and 6,700-mile KCS, announced today, is a classic end-to-end merger: The railways currently interchange in […]
WASHINGTON — CSX Transportation has defended its proposed acquisition of New England regional Pan Am Railways. Vermont Rail System, along with transportation officials from Vermont and Massachusetts, claim the deal would harm rail competition in the region and should face a more thorough review from the Surface Transportation Board. Massachusetts officials and lawmakers also expressed […]
If you believe that railroads have sacrificed volume growth on the altar of the Cult of the Operating Ratio, then here’s some good news: A Wall Street analyst says major investors are growing weary of cost-cutting and want to see railroads attract more traffic. Credit Suisse analyst Allison Landry says some institutional investors are […]
WASHINGTON — Wabtec CEO Rafael Santana asked Congress today to help fund a Freight Rail Innovation Institute that will develop zero-emissions locomotive technology to replace the diesel by 2030. “Wabtec’s goal is to develop the next generation of zero-emission locomotives. Wabtec has a clear path to power new locomotives – and repower existing locomotives – […]
WASHINGTON — For the second week in a row, U.S. railroads saw in increase in both carload and intermodal traffic compared with the same week a year earlier, according to the latest figures from the Association of American Railroads. Statistics for the week ending March 13 show U.S. railroads moving 230,684 total carloads, a 2.1% […]
Crew misunderstanding, lack of ‘physical defenses’ play part in CP Calgary accident, TSB says A yard crew’s misunderstanding of track permission granted to an intermodal train, along with a lack of “physical defenses” such as signals, led to a collision and derailment of two Canadian Pacific trains near Calgary’s Alyth Yard in March 2019, the […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak is taking its effort to start service along the Gulf Coast to the Surface Transportation Board. The passenger railroad is asking the regulatory body to require CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern to permit operation of two daily round trips between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. In its filing, Amtrak is asking for […]
