Chicago, railroads celebrate completion of Forest Hill Flyover

CSX Intermodal train led by single locomotive passes over Union Pacific and Metra locomotives on bridge

CHICAGO — Some projects of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency, or CREATE, program are begun and completed with relatively limited fanfare. That is certainly not the case with the Forest Hill Flyover, which carries the tracks of CSX Transportation over lines used by Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, the Belt Railway of Chicago, and […]

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Coalition of rail, environmental advocacy groups asks STB to ensure public role in UP-NS merger proceedings

WASHINGTON — A coalition of rail and environmental groups has submitted comments to the Surface Transportation Board on the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger, asking the board to clarify whether “substantive filings” from stakeholders other than parties directly involved would be part of the review process. The organizations — the Rail Passengers Association, Southern Rail […]

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CPKC reaches tentative agreement with engineers (updated)

CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific Kansas City has reached a tentative five-year agreement with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen for engineers on the former Soo Line in the United States. The agreement announced Thursday, Nov. 13, would cover approximately 300 engineers on the former Soo Line in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, and […]

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Union Pacific: We can avoid merger-related tech problems

CHICAGO — Big railroad mergers have often been plagued by problematic computer cutovers that lead to service meltdowns, most recently this spring when CPKC extended its system to the legacy Kansas City Southern network in the U.S. Union Pacific pledges to avoid the same fate if its proposed $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern wins […]

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Metra, UP tell STB that contract negotations continue

Commuter train departing large station with several other trains

WASHINGTON — The ongoing dispute between Metra and Union Pacific over commuter rail operations in the Chicago area was back before the Surface Transportation Board as the board resumed activity following the shutdown of the federal government. Both parties filed a joint status report on negotiations today (Nov. 13), while Metra offered a fairly brief […]

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NTSB releases preliminary report on BNSF conductor fatality

Diagram of accident involving moving train striking conductor of stopped train

WASHINGTON — Video shows a BNSF conductor struck and killed by a passing train was walking in the “foul” of the track — the area extending four feet on either side of the rails — prior to being struck, the National Transportation Safety Board says in its preliminary report on the Oct. 19, 2025, incident […]

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One Montreal transit strike ends, another set for weekend

Man with bicycle on station platform with rapid transit train

MONTREAL — The union engaged in what was to have been a month-long strike against Montreal’s public transit agency has suspended its job action  — but another strike will shut down the system this Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 15-16. The Syndicat du Transport de Montréal, which represents maintenance workers, began a walkout on Nov. 2 […]

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Anatomy of a long delay on the City of New Orleans

Passenger train at platform at night

CHICAGO — Getting stranded on a long-distance train can be a maddening experience. Passengers have little recourse but to endure the delay, uncertain of its duration and knowing that appointments and connections will be missed. As Trains.com has frequently reported, there have been many instances where highway crossing collisions, debris strikes, and especially “mechanical assessments” […]

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