WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration will train more than 160 current federal and state track inspectors to handle bridge inspections, as well, the FRA has announced, increasing the number of inspectors who monitor bridges from the current figure of less than 10. The federal track inspectors, as well as those employed by states who […]
NEW YORK — Long Island Rail Road engineers are holding a strike authorization vote, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has announced. The union says in a press release that its almost 600 members employed by the LIRR received ballots last week, with a voting deadline of 11 a.m. ET on Sept. 15, 2025. […]
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Regional Commission and the city of Atlanta are funding a study to determine a site for a new Amtrak station in the city. “Relocating and modernizing the Atlanta Amtrak Station could create opportunities to improve customer service, ADA accessibility, and multimodal connections for rail travelers,” the ARC says in an online […]
WASHINGTON — Members of the SMART Railroad, Mechanical and Engineering Department, or SMART-MD, have unanimously ratified a new contract with Union Pacific, the union announced today (Sept. 2, 2025). The agreement, based on terms of deals with other freight railroads, includes annual wage increases totaling 17.5% (more than 18.75% compounded); paid vacation for new-hire employees […]
LONDON — Two rail operators in the United Kingdom are testing a new fare system that will replace paper or digital tickets with a pay-as-you-go system based on Global Positioning System passenger tracking. The UK government’s Department for Transport says up to 4,000 passengers can sign up to use the system, which launched on Monday […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — Canada’s Minister of Transport and Internal Trade, Chrystia Freeland, will hold a summit on Canadian manufacture of rail and ferry equipment on Sept. 2, 2025, Transport Canada has announced. The event, “Made in Canada: Ferries and Rail Summit” will be held in Hamilton, Ont., and will bring together industry and government officials […]
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators today gave the green light to Watco’s acquisition of the 420-mile Michigan regional Great Lakes Central Railroad. Watco has been an equity investor in the GLC since 2013 and in March sought to have its acquisition of the railroad exempt from Surface Transportation Board review, which is common in straightforward shortline […]
PITTSBURGH — Wabtec this week introduced its EVO Advantage engine, which features eTurbo technology that improves fuel efficiency by as much as 7%. The EVO Advantage — which is currently undergoing extensive field testing — will be available for Evolution series Tier 3 and Tier 4 locomotive modernizations, the manufacturer said this week. “The heart […]
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 — […]
CHICAGO — Transportation relevance of Midwest passenger trains has been growing, according to a \policy brief released today by De Paul University’s Chaddick Institute of Metropolitan Development. But the document says that growth is set for a slowdown if states don’t step up investment in more capacity and frequencies. Professor Joseph Schwieterman, who regularly follows […]
WASHINGTON — President Donald J. Trump on Wednesday (Aug. 27) fired Surface Transportation Board member Robert E. Primus, breaking a 2-2 partisan split at the rail regulator while leaving it two members short of full strength just months before it is expected to receive the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger application. The Wall Street Journal first […]
WASHINGTON — Weekly U.S. rail traffic remained slightly below 2024 levels for a second consecutive week, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. For the week ending Aug. 23, 2025, total traffic was 512,333 carloads and intermodal units, a decline of 0.8% from the same week a year ago. That follows a 0.7% […]
