CN announces CEO JJ Ruest’s planned retirement

JJ Ruest

MONTREAL — Canadian National announced that Jean-Jacques Ruest will retire as president and CEO and as a member of the board of directors, effective as of the end of January 2022, or such later time as a successor has been appointed. “On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank JJ for his dedicated […]

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Regulators receive last-minute pleas regarding CSX acquisition of Pan Am

Front of a train

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators on Monday received a flurry of last-minute comments regarding CSX Transportation’s proposed acquisition of New England regional Pan Am Railways. The filings – from federal and state transportation officials, Norfolk Southern, and Genesee & Wyoming – were submitted on the deadline to respond to comments already made to the Surface Transportation Board […]

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News Photo: Dome-observation returns to VIA’s Churchill train

Stainless steel passenger train with dome-lounge-observation at rear

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Dome-lounge-observation Tweedsmuir Park brings up the rear of VIA Rail Canada’s Churchill-Winnipeg train No. 692 at Roblin, Man., on Oct. 18, marking the return of the Park class cars to the remote-service train for the first time since spring 2020. The train’s nine-car consist — including three coaches, three Chateau-series sleepers, a […]

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Activist investor argues for management change at Canadian National

Canadian National logo

LONDON — TCI Fund Management today released its plan to improve Canadian National’s operational and financial performance, saying that replacing CEO JJ Ruest with former CN Chief Operating Officer Jim Vena would usher in a new era of growth and profitability. But TCI’s plan, included with the launch of a website called cnbackontrack.com, sets no […]

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Four injured when Amtrak train hits auto carrier, derails

Damage to rear of locomotive and upper level of bilevel passenger car

MARIETTA, Okla. — At least four people were reported injured Friday night when Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer hit a truck carrying automobiles, derailing the locomotive and apparently causing vehicles from the truck to strike one of the passenger cars.  A Facebook post from the Love County, Okla., Fire Department reports the auto carrier had become high-centered […]

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Mark Twain Zephyr mural takes shape

Mural of passenger train

HANNIBAL, Mo. — While the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad is home of the under-restoration Mark Twain Zephyr, the city of Hannibal, Mo., is getting its own version of the streamliner — a 60-foot-by-14-foot mural. For a couple of weeks, muralist Ray Harvey of surburban St. Louis has been perched on a manlift above the corner of […]

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DC Metrorail service to be limited after newest cars are sidelined

WMATA (DC Metro) logo

WASHINGTON  — DC Metrorail service will face a significant service reduction as of Monday — and potentially for weeks to come — as the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority moves its newest rail cars, the Kawasaki-built 7000-series equipment, from service. The website DCist reports the independent Washington Metrorail Safety Commission ordered the cars removed from […]

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Texas Supreme Court reverses itself, will hear Texas Central case

Texas Central logo

AUSTIN, Texas — Acting on a second request, the Texas Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal regarding Texas Central’s eminent domain authority to acquire property for its planned high speed rail line between Dallas and Houston, a case hinging on whether Texas Central meets the legal definition of a “railroad company” or “interurban […]

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Union Pacific to require employees to receive COVID-19 vaccinations

Union Pacific logo with Building America slogan

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific will require employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccination by Dec. 8, the railroad has announced. In a brief notification on its website, the railroad says it is taking the action to comply with an executive order requiring vaccination for employees of federal contractors, noting UP’s status “as a federal contractor […]

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