CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state may sell a failed West Virginia intermodal hub, built for $32 million, for as little as $1 million — a prospect that drew objections Tuesday from legislators. The Heartland Intermodal Gateway in Prichard, W.Va., opened in December 2015 with the goal of handling 15,000 containers a year, the Charleston Gazette-Mail […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
NRC announces 2019 award winners NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON — The National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association has announced its 2019 award winners, to be honored at the 2020 NRC convention in Coronado, Calif., Jan. 5-8. R.J. Corman received the Large Project of the Year award for its BNSF Napier Project dealing with midwestern flooding. Massman Construction Co. received the Small Project of […]
Canadian farmers want legislation that would bar rail strikes NEWSWIRE
Canadian grain hoppers move through the Columbia Gorge in Oregon on Union Pacific in June 2018. In the wake of the recent Canadian National Railway strike, grain farmers in Canada want rail deliveries declared an essential service, which would bar employee strikes. TRAINS: David Lassen CALGARY — Nearly three weeks after a strike against Canadian […]
AAR shows anemic traffic volume for the week of Dec. 7, 2019 NEWSWIRE
Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Dec. 7, 2019. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 517,130 carloads and intermodal units, down 9.4% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending Dec. 7 were […]
AAR calls for swift passage of trade deal NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads is calling on Congress to quickly pass a new North American trade agreement. On Tuesday, it was announced that House Democrats had reached an agreement with President Donald Trump to pass the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the president’s replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement. AAR President and […]
Chair of House committee rips agency for allowing LNG move by rail
WASHINGTON — While the federal government gathers input on a proposal to allow liquefied natural gas to be moved in tank cars, one company has gotten a special permit to do just that. On Dec. 5, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration granted a special permit to Energy Transport Solutions LLC to move LNG […]
Railroads can gain carload traffic if they do three things, industry consultant says NEWSWIRE
NEW YORK CITY — The success of railroads in coming years will hinge on whether the industry can improve carload service enough to capture growth opportunities, transportation consultant Rodney Case told the RailTrends 2019 conference in November. “Carload is probably the step-child of the industry,” Case says, pointing to the way railroads have grown their […]
AAR economists put railroad traffic decline in perspective NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON — Coal sinking to record low volumes, lingering trade uncertainty, and a manufacturing slowdown are largely responsible for this year’s rail traffic slump, which is not as bad as it appears due to comparisons with an unusually robust 2018, Association of American Railroads economists said today. Nearly half of the overall drop in carload […]
AAR: Traffic down across the board compared to 2018 for the week of November 30 NEWSWIRE
Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Nov. 30, 2019, as well as volumes for November 2019. U.S. railroads originated 955,579 carloads in November 2019, down 7.5%, or 77,166 carloads, from November 2018. U.S. railroads also originated 1,019,766 containers and trailers in […]
CSX Transportation may limit line sales to those already on the block NEWSWIRE
Jim Foote, CSX Transportation CEO CSX Corp. PALM BEACH, Fla. — CSX Transportation may limit line sales to the routes that it currently has out to bid. “We’re going to be very, very, very careful before we would ever sell anything,” CEO Jim Foote told an investor conference on Tuesday. “We’re not interested in exiting […]
FRA looks to expand grade-crossing program NEWSWIRE
A Brightline train speeds across Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, Fla., in January 2019. The FRA is looking to expand a program to address grade-crossing accidents in Florida and the nine other states with the highest number of grade-crossing incidents, and to require other states to come up with new plans. TRAINS: David Lassen WASHINGTON […]
JB Hunt executives say railroads need to change pricing policies to help promote rail intermodal NEWSWIRE
NASHVILLE — Railroads need to change their pricing if J.B. Hunt is going to increase its intermodal business. “We always want to market and sell intermodal when that’s the best solution,” says Darren Field, J.B. Hunt executive vice president of the company’s intermodal operations, which provide more than half of Hunt’s revenue. J.B. Hunt in […]
