MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The state of Alabama this week announced the creation of the A-USA Corridor, a proposed $231.6 million program of rail projects to upgrade economic development infrastructure in central and southern Alabama. The first phase of the A-USA Corridor initiative involves a $71.6 million initiative to link the Port of Mobile with the McCalla […]
Railroad: Norfolk Southern
Amtrak, Massachusetts seek conditions on CSX-Pan Am merger
WASHINGTON – Amtrak and Massachusetts transportation officials have asked federal regulators to impose conditions that would protect current and future passenger and commuter service in the Bay State as part of CSX Transportation’s proposed acquisition of Pan Am Railways. Their comments were among those filed yesterday, the Surface Transportation Board’s deadline for receiving briefs regarding […]
CSX, NS documents offer harsh rebuttal to Amtrak filing in Gulf Coast case
WASHINGTON — In filings that maintain if not elevate the level of acrimony between the two sides, CSX and Norfolk Southern have attacked almost every aspect of Amtrak’s response to their initial argument in the dispute over Gulf Coast passenger service that is before the Surface Transportation Board. The main document filed by the two […]
News Wire Top 10, No. 5: Amtrak spars with CSX, NS over Gulf Coast service
MOBILE, Ala. — Amtrak’s intention to begin two daily round trips between New Orleans and Mobile in 2022 has led to a Surface Transportation Board proceeding likely to determine the rights and obligations of host railroads in granting access over routes that currently don’t have passenger service. The case before the STB grows out of […]
News Wire Top 10, No. 7: Railroad crew shortages
At the onset of the pandemic in 2020, Class I railroads furloughed train crews as volume sank at its fastest rate ever. When volume rebounded, crew members were not called back to work at the same rate as traffic returned because railroads were moving their tonnage on fewer but longer trains. Then three things happened […]
NS tests incentive program to improve container movement at intermodal terminals
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has introduced an incentive program to improve container movement in and out of international intermodal facilities in Chicago and Kansas City, Mo. The “Dual Mission Reward Program” offers truck carriers and steamship lines a $200 incentive every time a drayage driver both delivers and departs with a shipping container, completing what […]
Retired exec says Precision Scheduled Railroading gets a bad rap — Analysis
Precision Scheduled Railroading has become a target for members of Congress, federal regulators, shippers, and rail labor. Hunter Harrison’s low-cost operating model — in place on all of the Class I railroads except BNSF Railway — has come under criticism as rail traffic has rebounded from pandemic lows. Intermodal terminals faced monumental congestion this summer. […]
NS intermodal train derails, closing Georgia highway
SYCAMORE, Ga. — Some 14 cars of a Norfolk Southern intermodal train derailed Friday near Sycamore, closing an adjacent highway. No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were involved. Turner County Fire/Emergency Management Agency reported U.S. 41 had been blocked by the derailment, which occurred about 7:30 a.m. Friday. Part of the route was […]
Analysis: Do railroad mergers match their rosy growth projections?
Do railroad mergers live up to the hype? It’s a question that’s been rattling around in my head as federal regulators review the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, the first between Class I railroads in two decades. First, the projections. Within three years of the merger, Canadian Pacific Kansas City expects to gain 80,000 carloads […]
Tennessee man killed at NS project in Pennsylvania
DAUPHIN, Pa. — A 27-year-old Kingsport, Tenn., man has been identified as the victim of a fatal accident on a Norfolk Southern project earlier this month. The Kingsport Times-News reports Kolton Parker Helbert, an employee of National Salvage & Service Corp., was killed in the Dec. 8 accident. National Salvage provides demolition and dismantlement services. […]
DOT-FRA filing in Gulf Coast case offers detailed criticism of CSX-NS arguments
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Railroad Administration call for the Surface Transportation Board to order the restoration of Amtrak service along the Gulf Coast — and offer detailed criticism of arguments by CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern against that service — in a Tuesday filing with the Surface Transportation Board. The […]
Norfolk Southern reports some headway against congestion, crew hiring
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern is working to hire conductors to fill its depleted crew ranks in key areas of the system, railroad President Alan Shaw has told federal regulators. “We recognize our current service levels do not meet our customers’ or our expectations. We also understand the critical role we play in supporting our customers’ […]
