WASHINGTON — Minnesota Republicans in the House of Representatives on Friday (May 23) announced an effort to eliminate federal funding for three rail programs: the Northstar commuter service; Blue Line light rail extension in the Twin Cities, and the proposed Northern Light Express between the Twin Cities and Duluth. The four legislators — Tom Emmer […]
NEW YORK — A name both familiar to and well-regarded by New Yorkers will be placed in charge of the remodeling of Penn Station. Andy Byford, who oversaw the city’s subways to positive reviews as president of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s New York City Transit from 2018 to 2020, has been chosen to oversee the […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific is working to finalize agreements with Ferromex and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to shift cross-border crew changes from the International Railroad Bridge to UP’s yard in Eagle Pass, Texas. Currently, trains using the Eagle Pass-Piedras Negras, Mexico, gateway swap crews on the single-track bridge over the Rio Grande. It’s […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific has asked the Surface Transportation Board to dismiss Metra’s request for trackage rights on UP lines in the Chicago area, saying the STB does not have jurisdiction because Metra is an intrastate, rather than interstate, operation. In a motion to dismiss filed today, UP argues that Metra’s request “suffers a fatal […]
WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads has asked the Federal Railroad Administration to allow less frequent visual track inspections in territory where automated track inspection systems are used. “The primary benefit of using automated inspection technologies is earlier detection of track defects enabling railroads to switch from reactive to preventative maintenance practices. A strictly […]
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia’s Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Norfolk Southern in a fight over broadband companies’ ability to build across rail lines. In a decision released Thursday, the court found that a 2023 law allowing broadband companies to “take railroad property for nonpublic use” violates a provision in the state constitution and […]
NEW YORK — What will it take for railroad stocks to outperform the broader market again? Is the industry stuck in a particularly long and challenging cyclical downturn — or has something fundamentally changed within the Class I railroads? Wolfe Research analyst Scott Group put these questions to CPKC CEO Keith Creel at the Wall […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s overall customer on-time performance improved in the first quarter of 2025, compared to the previous quarter, according to the latest report from the Federal Railroad Administration. But the 72% overall figure is down from 77% in the same quarter a year ago, and none of the company’s three business segments (long distance, […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific announced yesterday that it plans to open its new Kansas City Intermodal Terminal in mid-July as the railroad looks to strengthen its position in the Kansas City market. UP would not disclose the terminal’s annual lift capacity, but said the facility, located in Armourdale Yard, will have twice as much […]
OMAHA — Union Pacific has urged Metra to accept its latest contract offer in the long-running dispute over the transfer of commuter operations on three UP lines, saying the freight railroad “cannot continue subsidizing Metra’s operations.” Liisa Stark, UP vice president of public affairs, said in a Wednesday, May 21, press release that Metra has […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has expanded its interchange improvement program to all of its short line connections in a bid to boost carload volume growth. NS sought to improve interchange consistency and reliability when it launched its Short Line Performance Project with 40 short lines last year. “It led to just absolutely above normal growth […]
LONG BEACH, Calif. — The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are now accepting proposals from prospective operators of the short line railroad serving the two ports. Pacific Harbor Line has provided the service since 1998, the last time the contract was put out for bid. While the two ports are administered by the […]
