WASHINGTON — The parties involved in the fight over Amtrak Gulf Coast service want to make one more effort to settle the matter without resuming their hearing before the Surface Transportation Board. Just five days after the STB issued its schedule for additional hearings, and indicated it could vote on a resolution as soon as […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has scheduled two more days of hearings next month on Amtrak’s efforts to launch Gulf Coast passenger service after the passenger carrier, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and the Port of Mobile, Ala., failed to reach an agreement through board-sponsored mediation. The evidentiary hearings will be Nov. 17-18, beginning at […]
I never met David “Dave” A. Fink, but I felt his presence for a while in the late 1990s. The pugnacious president of Guilford Transportation Industries had a reputation for being difficult with journalists, but long about 1997 I decided Trains absolutely had to have a profile of his railroad, no matter what. Fink proved […]
BALTIMORE — Tradepoint Atlantic, developer of the former Sparrows Point steel mill at the Port of Baltimore, has announced plans for a 165-acre container terminal with on-dock rail as the next major step of redevelopment of the 3,300-acre site. The project, a partnership with Terminal Investment Limited, should lead to hundreds of new jobs during […]
CHICAGO — To weigh the significance of Tuesday’s groundbreaking for part of CREATE’s latest infrastructure project, consider the adage that “success has many fathers, but defeat is an orphan.” Then consider the 13 speakers and many other representatives from federal, state, county, and local government that were part of the ceremony for the Forest Hill […]
WASHINGTON – Short line Eastern Maine Railway next month will acquire 45 miles of track in the Pine Tree State from Canadian Pacific’s Central Maine & Quebec subsidiary. Eastern Maine Railway, owned by the New Brunswick-based J.D. Irving Ltd., will gain 36.57 miles of main line along with nine miles of branch line trackage in […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Shortline holding company Patriot Rail has named Jerry Hall as its chief operating officer, the company announced Monday. Hall brings over three decades of rail industry experience to the Patriot team, most recently as vice president of transportation at Norfolk Southern. Hall now leads Patriot Rail’s operations nationwide, with responsibility for safety, […]
PORTER, Ind. — Work to double track the South Shore Line through Michigan City, Ind., should be completed by Thanksgiving, Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District officials told the district’s board of trustees at a Monday meeting. The Times of Northwest Indiana reports that overall, the double-track work between Gary, Ind., and Michigan City is more […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has denied a bid by the owner of the Skunk Train tourist operation to acquire 13 miles of abandoned Northwestern Pacific right-of-way, increasing the likelihood the entire route will become a public trail. In a Thursday decision, the board ruled that Mendocino Railways, the Skunk Train owner, “has failed […]
FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Seminole Gulf Railway, devastated by Hurricane Ian, is now estimating it will take $28 million to return the 105-mile railroad in southwest Florida to operation. WBBH-TV reports the railroad hosted government officials on Thursday in an effort to rally support for emergency funding, so the railroad can return to operation […]
CHARLESTON, S.C. — South Carolina Ports has broken ground on a new near-dock rail facility, the Navy Base Intermodal Facility in North Charleston, to bolster the competitive position of the Port of Charleston. The facility is about a mile from the port’s Leatherman Terminal; containers will move to and from the terminal on a dedicated […]
David “Dave” A. Fink, who shaped New England railroading as president of Guilford Transportation Industries, died on Oct. 11 after a period of declining health. Fink, 86, began his railroad career as a clerk for the Pennsylvania Railroad and later worked for Penn Central. The fourth-generation railroader teamed up with Timothy Mellon to buy the […]
