Alberta proposes Calgary-Banff rail service

Blue flag with centered crest showing mountains and wheat

More Wednesday morning rail news in brief: Alberta will study feasibility of Calgary-Banff rail line The government of Alberta announced Tuesday that it will study the feasibility of creating rail service between Calgary and the Rocky Mountain community of Banff, a project which would boost the area’s tourism industry. Global News reports the provincial government […]

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Class I officials say traffic shows early signs of recovery

Railroad volumes are beginning to show signs of early recovery after the sharp downturn that accompanied the coronavirus pandemic, executives from four Class I railroads told an investor conference on Tuesday. Officials from Canadian National, CSX Transportation, Kansas City Southern, and Union Pacific all said the resumption of North American auto production and its impact […]

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U.S. DOT says federal law preempts Washington state effort to regulate crude-by-rail NEWSWIRE

Oil_Ruling_Lassen

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has ruled that federal regulations preempt a Washington state law aiming to regulate crude-by-rail moves. TRAINS: David Lassen Tuesday morning rail news: — The U.S. Department of Transportation has sided with North Dakota and Montana in a dispute with Washington state over the transport […]

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In a surprise, UP shuts down Cold Connect reefer service

Cold_Connect_Lassen

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific has pulled the plug on its innovative Cold Connect reefer service, which the railroad had touted as a way to return long-lost perishables business to the rails. The service linked growers in California and the Pacific Northwest with consumers in the Northeast and New England via a mammoth refrigerated warehouse […]

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Final days of steam in western China

A steam locomotive billows smoke and steam under a twilight sky in an industrial rail yard.

Editors’ note: The author and photographers are graduates of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s rail engineering program. This is their first Trains byline. In North America, the days of steam railroading are a distant memory, and coal traffic is slowly headed the way of steam. In Europe and Japan, steam enthusiasts eagerly attend steam […]

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Amtrak donating to food banks nationwide NEWSWIRE

Amtrak_Food_Donation

Workers from Amtrak’s Chicago Commissary deliver food to the King Majesty Ministries food bank, part of a nationwide effort by Amtrak to donate surplus food. King Majesty Ministries, via Amtrak More Tuesday afternoon rail news: — Amtrak is making donations to food banks across the U.S., offering help to those in need during the COVID-19 […]

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InnoTrans rescheduled to April 2021 NEWSWIRE

InnoTrans

More Monday rail news: — InnoTrans, the world’s largest rail trade fair, has been rescheduled to April 27-30, 2021, in Berlin. The event, held every other year, was postponed from its original date of Sept. 22-25 of this year when Berlin’s government placed a ban on events with more than 5,000 people through Oct. 24. […]

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