Action may be required on your Trains.com account in order to continue accessing content. Click here to learn more.
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. — Canadian National and CSX executives today touted cooperation — not combination — as the best way to convert freight from highway to rail. While Union Pacific has proposed an $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern to create the first transcontinental railroad in the U.S., CN CEO Tracy Robinson says interline partnerships […]
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. — Norfolk Southern CEO Mark George says the rail industry is ready to put periodic service crises in the rearview mirror — and regain market share lost to trucking in the process. “We went through … more than a decade where service crises happened every couple of years,” George told an investor […]
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. — Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena and Norfolk Southern CEO Mark George say the interline partnerships that BNSF, CSX, and Canadian National have announced recently are proof that the proposed UP-NS merger will boost railroad competition. “Just the mere idea of having a transcontinental railroad has already enhanced competition … And I […]
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department and Norfolk Southern today reached a settlement in the right of preference lawsuit the government brought last year regarding the railroad’s handling of Amtrak’s Crescent. The Justice Department — in only the second case of its kind since Amtrak was granted the right of preference in 1973 — had alleged […]
WASHINGTON — The trade group representing chemical manufacturers says a Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger would reduce rail competition and increase freight rates, which in turn will contribute to inflation that will harm American consumers, manufacturers, and farmers. “The additional costs that are the likely result of this merger are ultimately going to hit everyday Americans,” […]
What a week this was for unexpected twists and turns in the Class I railroad merger landscape. First, on Monday Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett said the company would not bid on CSX or Norfolk Southern, which had been viewed as potential merger partners for the Berkshire-owned BNSF Railway. A BNSF-CSX combination, in particular, had […]
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department yesterday urged the Surface Transportation Board to closely scrutinize Norfolk Southern’s bid for full control of the Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line, warning that the move could choke off competition at one of the Port of Virginia’s intermodal terminals. The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said the 129-year-old Belt Line — […]
Refrigerated intermodal company C.R. England Trucking and transloading and logistics firm The Transload Group on Monday announced their support for the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger, citing the benefits of a transcontinental rail operator. The Salt Lake City-based C.R. England said it offered “strong support” for the merger, saying it believes the “coast-to-cost integration marks a […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific has bolstered its lobbyist efforts on Capitol Hill to support its effort to merge with Norfolk Southern. Politico reports the railroad has hired a team from the firm of Squire Patton Boggs led by former U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), who spent 18 years in the House, including six as chair […]
WASHINGTON — A Norfolk Southern train that derailed last month in Illinois — spilling hazardous materials and injuring two crewmen — occurred as the train rolled through a spring switch that had just undergone maintenance work, the National Transportation Board said today. Eastbound NS train 167 derailed at 5:44 p.m. on July 18 near Browns, […]
OMAHA, Neb. — When Jim Vena walked into the Union Pacific Center for the first time as CEO two years ago today, he was toting a black, spiral bound notebook that he takes everywhere. Among the entries jotted on the back pages — where he lists ideas, priorities, and possibilities — was a single word, […]
OMAHA, Neb. — The proposed Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern transcontinental merger could lead to nearly 10% traffic growth by 2030 — a significant turnaround for railroads that have yet to rebound to their pre-pandemic volume levels. UP and NS did not provide traffic growth projections as part of their July 29 merger announcement. Rather, […]
