BNSF claims CP-KCS merger will throw Houston terminal into gridlock

Kansas City Southern train leaves terminal

A Kansas City Southern intermodal train heads for the Union Pacific Brownsville Subdivision at Robstown, Texas, in November 2017. Bill Stephens WASHINGTON – Projected traffic increases from the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger will put the critical Houston terminal into gridlock, BNSF Railway has warned federal regulators this week, citing a new analysis. CP and […]

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Amtrak urges regulators to reject CN’s request to gain control of KCS’s former Gateway Western trackage

Passenger train passes freight

WASHINGTON – Amtrak has urged federal regulators to reject Canadian National’s quest to obtain Kansas City Southern’s former Gateway Western trackage as a condition of the proposed Canadian Pacific-KCS merger. CN aims to create a new single-line route dubbed the Springfield Speedway that would link Kansas City and St. Louis with Chicago, Detroit, and Eastern […]

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Rochelle council approves funds for railroad park improvements

Covered platform with tables and chairs, with railroad tracks visible in background

ROCHELLE, Ill. — The Rochelle City Council has approved more than $30,000 for the first part of a three-phase plan to upgrade the Rochelle Railroad Park, the popular facility at the crossing of BSNF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad main lines. The Rochelle News-Leader reports that at a Monday meeting, the council approved a $30,750 […]

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Union Pacific train derails in Kansas

Aerial view of derailment on track next to highway

BONNER SPRINGS, Kan. — Twenty-five cars of a Union Pacific train, including some carrying hazardous materials, derailed Friday evening in Bonner Springs. The Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department, which responded, reports nine of the cars were tank cars carrying isobutane, a flammable gas used to make products ranging from aviation gasoline to plastics to food […]

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State will provide funding for Nebraska industrial park

HERSHEY, Neb. — Nebraska officials will provide $30 million toward construction of a rail-served industrial park near North Platte, Neb., backers of the project have learned. The North Platte Telegraph reports the North Platte Area Chamber & Development Corp. was informed Wednesday that it has qualified for the state funding by securing local commitments of […]

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How Wall Street holds railroads hostage: Analysis

Man climbing on front steps of orange locomotive

The U.S. Class I railroads’ recurring crew shortages, related bouts of service problems, and a lack of meaningful volume growth are intertwined. You can lay the blame for all three problems at just one place: Wall Street. BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific are in the midst of the mother of all […]

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UP coal train derails in Kansas

Aerial view of derailed hoppers and spilled coal

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Cleanup continued through the weekend after more than two dozen cars of a Union Pacific coal train derailed Friday near Lawrence. Initial reports indicated more than 20 cars were involved in the derailment that occurred shortly after 5 p.m., but drone video of the accident from the Lawrence Police Department indicates the […]

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