WASHINGTON — The Class I railroads adopting Precision Scheduled Railroading operating models say they are providing better service as they become more efficient. But disgruntled shippers tell a different story: They say they’re paying the price for cutbacks in people and motive power that make railroads more profitable as service suffers. Railroad customers and their […]
Q: I want to submit a question and photograph to Ask Trains. How do I do that? I can’t find a way to submit a photo. — Matt Jackson, Durham, N.C. A: The best way to submit a question and a photo to Ask Trains is by email. The email address is AskTrains@TrainsMag.com. We only […]
New York to Miami Silver Star train No. 91 was operating on track warrants and verbal communication with CSX Transportation dispatchers when it crashed into a parked CSX autorack train about 2:27 a.m. on Feb. 4, 2018, at Cayce, S.C. Jonathan Hinely WASHINGTON — Human error combined with inadequate attention to safety risk led to […]
The worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX fleet in the wake of two fatal crashes has not stopped rail shipments of new fuselages from Kansas to Washington State via BNSF Railway and regional Montana Rail Link. Boeing has curtailed production of the 737 MAX for the duration of the grounding, which is related to […]
CSX Transportation train R410 passed through Harborcreek, Pa., with traffic that was originally handled through the Baltimore Tunnel. Flooding from a water main break and reports by Baltimore officials of derailed cars prompted its closure and rerouting of traffic via other lines. Stephan M. Koenig ERIE, Pa. — Flooding combined with a water main break […]
ALBANY, N.Y. — A new book promises to “lay out the whole damning history” of moving crude oil by railroad, starting with the tragic wreck and inferno at Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, on July 6, 2013. The book is “Bomb Trains: How Industry Greed and Regulatory Failure Put the Public at Risk” by Justin Mikulka. Mikulka says […]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Following the recent bankruptcy filing of coal producer Cambrian Holdings, another Appalachian coal company has filed for bankruptcy protection. According to court documents, Revelation Energy LLC and its Blackjewel LLC parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of West Virginia. According to the filing, made under the […]
Oklahoma Gas & Electric empties approach the four loading silos as the Belle Ayr Mine, then owned by Amax, on Dec. 21, 1976. Hol Wagner GILLETTE, Wyo. – Wyoming’s pioneering Belle Ayr mine southeast of Gillette has closed abruptly this week, following the bankruptcy filing of parent Blackjewel LLC in West Virginia. The company has […]
PORT HURON, Mich. — Cleanup continues after a Friday derailment in the St. Clair River tunnel connecting the U.S. and Canada, which resulted in a spill of more than 13,000 gallons of sulfuric acid. The Port Huron Times Herald reported Saturday afternoon crews were preparing to pump out the spilled acid after removing other cars […]
This CSX Transportation crude-by-rail map shows the route the unit oil trains took from Chicago via Buffalo and Selkirk, N.Y., to reach the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery in Philadelphia. CSX Transportation PHILADELPHIA — The pending closure of the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery will put a dent in crude oil traffic on BNSF Railway and CSX […]
Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending June 22. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 525,116 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.8% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending June 22 were 257,836 […]
A CSX train prepares to flood load at Premier Elkhorn Coal’s prep plant at Myra, Kentucky, in summer 2012. The plant is now owned by Cambrian Holding Company, which recently filed for bankruptcy protection. Chris Anderson BELCHER, KY. — A coal operator in Eastern Kentucky with loading operations served by both CSX Transportation and Norfolk […]
