A BNSF Railway intermodal train heads east through Lisle, Ill., in June 2019. Continuing escalation of the U.S.-China trade war puts more forms of rail cargo at risk. TRAINS: David Lassen WASHINGTON — Large-volume customers that U.S. and Canadian railroads count on are increasingly being hit by the escalating China trade war. Agriculture and automobiles are […]
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Starting Friday, Aug. 30, Amtrak will be extending New Haven, Conn.-Springfield, Mass., shuttles 40 miles north to and from Greenfield, Mass. The service is part of a two-year pilot program to test demand for expanded rush-hour service connecting with Northeast Corridor trains. Two weekday round trips — morning southbound and evening northbound […]
Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads this week reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Aug. 17, 2019. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 537,617 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.2% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending Aug. 17 […]
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — Media outlets in western Nebraska report that more Union Pacific railroaders are out of work because of less traffic on the railroad. The North Platte Telegraph on Wednesday reported that an unknown number of railroaders are expected to be let go in the coming days, and that this would be the […]
Grand Trunk Western owned and operated a small yard and ferry slip in Milwaukee into the 1970s. Here, 1926 Brill boxcab No. 73 works ferry Grand Rapids at Milwaukee in December 1955. Russ Porter photo […]
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program. The NOFO includes more than $244 million in grant funding. “The Consolidated Rail Infrastructure & Safety Improvements grant program is an important resource for railroads […]
North American intermodal volumes are expected to remain in the doldrums for the rest of the year amid a complicated brew of factors that will keep railroading’s growth engine stuck in low gear. That’s the view of a trio of TTX intermodal experts, who shared their outlooks during an Intermodal Association of North America webcast […]
Cincinnati Southern Railway website Q: The city of Cincinnati owns the CNO&TP line running from Cincinnati to Chattanooga, Tenn., which Norfolk Southern leases from the city. Does the city of Cincinnati also own and lease yards along the line to NS, or does NS own these yards outright? — Doug Lathrem, Bowling Green, Ky. A: […]
Various Santa Fe SF30C units are seen in storage at Argentine Yard, in Argentine, Kan., in 1983. Several of these locomotives have rotary or flashing beacons on their cab roofs for safety. TEH-14212-34 Ivan Abrams Q: Why did some railroads use flashing or rotary beacons atop their diesels? And do any railroads use them anymore? […]
EDITOR’S NOTE: Trains readers aren’t the only ones to wonder about happenings in the railroad world. Trains editors and friends recently shared an email discussion about why two Class I railroads near Trains’ headquarters removed a connection at a diamond crossover. Here’s a condensed, edited version of the best explanation we’ve seen: A: I would […]
EOTs — end-of-train device Q: In track side watching and in videos, I note that end-of-train devices only flash at night. Why is this? — William Carpenter West Chester Township, Ohio The Northeast Operating Rules Advisory Committee (NORAC) rulebook used by most northeastern railroads states that each train occupying a main track or controlled siding […]
CSX Transportation, from a service advisory NEW YORK CITY — Canadian National and CSX Transportation will launch joint intermodal service this fall linking Toronto and Montreal with New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. The service, announced on Thursday and set to begin in October, is unusual because it’s a short haul for both railroads, which […]
