Additional Monday morning rail news: Metrolink receives $13.6 million for grade crossing projects Metrolink has been awarded $13.6 million in Federal Highway Administration funds for grade crossing improvements along its Antelope Valley line in the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, Calif. The commuter railroad will work with Union Pacific and the two cities to design […]
More Monday morning rail news: AAR launches push for government support with white paper on environmental benefits of rail, policy goals The Association of American Railroads is promoting the rail industry as a solution to climate change in proposals contained in a white paper released today, Bloomberg reports, hoping to find support with the Biden […]
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Northeastern railroads’ role in transporting flour will be commemorated as part of the reimagining of a former industrial section of Buffalo. Planners anticipate that residents and visitors in the city’s “Silo City” neighborhood will be able to see a locomotive and three railcars used in the movement of flour from Buffalo’s mills. […]
Monday morning rail news: Endangered-species listings force California high speed rail to revise environmental report Listing of the Southern California and Central Coast mountain line and monarch butterfly as candidates for endangered species lists have added to the complications faced by the California High-Speed Rail Authority in planning the Bakersfield-Palmdale section of its route. The […]
The two remaining Amtrak Cascades Talgo Series 6 trainsets owned by the Washington State Department of Transportation, sidelined since the fatal December 2017 derailment of another one of the trainsets in DuPont, Wash., left storage in Washington today, en route to a scrap dealer in Southern California. WSDOT had removed the trainsets from service after […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has issued an emergency order requiring train crews to wear face masks, effective Monday, March 1. The order, to be published in Monday’s Federal Register, is to bring employees into compliance with an executive order requiring masks to be worn on trains and most other forms of transportation, as […]
OMAHA, Neb. — BNSF Railway’s revenue and profits fell in 2020 due to the pandemic-related declines in traffic volume, the railroad’s corporate parent, Berkshire Hathaway, reported on Saturday. Pre-tax earnings declined 6.3%, to $6.8 billion, as revenue fell 11.3%, to $20.2 billion. The railroad’s net income fell 5.8%, to $5.2 billion. BNSF’s operating ratio for […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett praised BNSF Railway management for steering the company through the pandemic and touted the railroad’s role in the U.S. economy in his widely read annual letter to shareholders, which was released on Saturday. “Last year, Carl Ice, its CEO, and his number two, Katie Farmer, did an […]
Friday midday rail news: Canadian crude-by-rail sees major drop in 2020, regulator says Canadian crude-by-rail exports fell by nearly 40% in 2020, according to the Canada Energy Regulator, which regulates the export of crude and petroleum products. The average of 172,013 barrels per day — after an average of 280,272 barrels in 2019 — after […]
More Friday morning rail news: Preliminary statistics show decline in Canadian rail accidents in 2020 Preliminary statistics from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada show a decrease in rail accidents and incidents in 2020, numbers the agency believes were likely influenced by the impact of COVID-19 on the transportation. Numbers released as part of a […]
MOBILE, ALA. — Amtrak, attempting to move forward a project that has most funding in place, says it has notified host railroads CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern that it plans to start two daily round trips between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., sometime in 2022. The passenger carrier announced its intentions even though a traffic […]
Friday morning rail news: Auditor General criticizes Transport Canada safety oversight; Transport Minister says agency will address issues Canada’s Auditor General said Thursday that Transport Canada has failed to implement recommendations included in a 2013 audit of its safety practices. The CBC reports the auditor general found the agency has improved its focus on high-risk […]
