WASHINGTON — More regulatory oversight is needed to keep rail volumes from shifting to trucks and limiting the railroads’ growth potential, rail customers have told the Surface Transportation Board. Their testimony, along with that of railroads, unions, industry consultants and others, has been filed with STB ahead of a two-day hearing at the agency next […]
You can’t blame Amtrak for being disappointed with the on-time performance of its long distance trains, which roll off the vast majority of their mileage on host railroads. In the 12 months ending June 30, 2024, just 57% of long distance passengers arrived on the advertised. Amtrak’s No. 1 culprit for late trains: Freight train […]
ATLANTA – Norfolk Southern confirmed late Sunday night that its board has opened an investigation into allegations of conduct by CEO Alan Shaw that is “inconsistent with the company’s Code of Ethics and company policy.” The Wall Street Journal reported this afternoon that Shaw is expected to leave the company by the end of the […]
ATLANTA – The Norfolk Southern board of directors is investigating allegations that CEO Alan Shaw had an inappropriate workplace relationship, CNBC reported today, citing three unnamed people said to be familiar with the matter. The investigation is in its early stages, the network reported, and it is possible that no misconduct may be uncovered. Norfolk […]
DENVER — Shortline holding company OmniTRAX has acquired Central Arizona Commerce Park’s rail infrastructure and remaining park acreage. With the acquisition, OmniTRAX becomes the exclusive infrastructure partner of the 679-acre industrial park located in Casa Grande, which is midway between Phoenix and Tucson. This move marks OmniTRAX’s third rail transaction in the past six months […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway has sharply increased the insurance coverage requirements for shippers of certain hazardous materials, which has prompted chemical producers to express “grave concerns” in a letter to CEO Katie Farmer. The move comes in the wake of the February 2023 hazardous materials derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which has cost […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway has launched a Shortline Select program designed to improve interchanges and service while deepening the commercial ties between the Class I and its short line connections. The first participating short line is Genesee & Wyoming’s 339-mile Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway (AGR), which interchanges with BNSF at Armory, Miss. […]
LOS ANGELES — The U.S. container port arms race is moving by rail. The Los Angeles Harbor Commission on Thursday said it has approved a lease amendment that finalizes plans for $52 million to improve the on-dock rail capacity at the Port of Los Angeles Pier 300. Pier 300, the second-largest terminal at Los Angeles, […]
A 60-foot intermodal container flatcar has joined Jacksonville Terminal Co.’s growing N scale freight car lineup. The newly tooled car features Very Real Knuckle (VRK) couplers and insulated metal wheelsets. Prototype history The sample we received is decorated as Trailer Train car VTTX 91927. The prototype VTTX cars were a mix of Pullman-Standard 60-foot bulkhead […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board today (Sept. 5) announced the schedule for those who will testify in its upcoming hearing on growth in the freight rail industry, and adjusted the starting time for each day of Sept. 16-17 hearing to 9 a.m. ET — a half-hour earlier than the original schedule. The hearing will […]
Genesee & Wyoming train dispatchers have voted to join the American Train Dispatchers Association, the union said this week. Based at the American Rail Dispatching Center in St. Albans, Vt., the 34 G&W dispatchers control railroad traffic in 43 states on more than 13,000 miles of shortline track. The center handles dispatching for nearly all […]
Eugene (Gene) H. Blabey II, who founded several short lines during a 50-year railroading career, died on Sept. 2. He was 85. Blabey was among the first railroaders inducted into the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association’s Short Line Railroad Industry Hall of Fame. “Gene was a legend in our industry and a leading […]
