LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County has reinstated its own mask requirement for public transit and transportation sites such as airports, even though the federal mask mandate was struck down earlier this week by a Florida judge. The Los Angeles Times reports the rule went into effect at 12:01 a.m. today (Friday, April 22), with […]
TORONTO — The latest update on commuter rail ridership between London, Ontario, and Toronto continues to show limited ridership, but provincial transit agency Metrolinx says it’s difficult to gauge the pilot program’s success because of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transit. The CBC reports total ridership for the first six months of […]
Executives from the big four U.S. railroads — BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific — will take turns in the hot seat next week during two days of Surface Transportation Board hearings on widespread service problems. Federal regulators, fed up with ongoing shipper complaints, will want to know how and when the […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has released its schedule for speakers to take part in next week’s hearing regarding urgent issues in freight rail service, to be held at the STB’s hearing room April 26-27. The proceedings will begin at 9:30 a.m. EDT both days. A total of 11 “panels” of speakers are scheduled, […]
OMAHA, Neb. — In a reflection of escalating tension between Class I railroads and their union workers — both as national contract negotiations drag on and because of friction arising from Precision Scheduled Railroading — the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has taken out a newspaper ad aimed at shareholders of Union Pacific and […]
PALMETTO, Fla. — A Palmetto company says it working with CSX Transportation to launch intermodal service from SeaPort Manatee, a port at the entrance to Tampa Bay in Palmetto County, to the Northeast. The Bradenton Herald reports Daniel Blazer and his father, Robert Blazer, owners of World Direct Shipping, appeared at Thursday’s meeting of the […]
READING, Pa. — Two Pennsylvania counties have agreed to create a passenger rail authority to support restoration of service between Reading and Philadelphia, leaving just one more county needing to approve formation of the authority. The Pottstown Mercury reports commissioners in Berks and Montgomery counties approved creation of the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority on […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific reported higher first quarter volume, revenue, and profits despite congestion related to crew shortages and rising freight car inventory. “Improving our service product has our full and undivided attention,” CEO Lance Fritz told investors and analysts on the railroad’s Thursday morning earnings call. UP’s on-time performance deteriorated during the quarter. […]
PORT CLINTON, Pa. — The Reading & Northern Railroad has acquired an industrial complex located near the center of its 400-mile system that has previously been occupied by a fire truck manufacturer. The nine-building, 10-acre complex is in Nesquehoning Borough in Carbon County, adjacent to the town of Jim Thorpe and about 30 miles from […]
WASHINGTON — More transit agencies have dropped their requirement for riders to wear masks, but the Biden Administration has announced it will appeal the judge’s ruling that struck down the federal mask mandate for public transportation. Among the latest agencies to end a mask rule are several in the San Francisco Bay Area. Bay Area […]
CHICAGO — Ukrainian refugee trains being operated by RDC Deutschland, the German subsidiary of Pittsburgh-based Railroad Development Corp., have stopped running as of April 19. In a presentation that day to Northwestern University’s Sandhouse Rail Group, RDC Chairmain Henry Posner III recounted experiences in operating those trains, as well as observations based on past visits […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National executives including now-departed CEO JJ Ruest received significant bonuses last year for the first time since 2018, the Globe and Mail reports. Ruest, who stepped down in January, received a $2.32 million bonus in 2021 as part of overall compensation totaling $13.55 million. A year earlier, his bonus had been $313,334. […]
