WASHINGTON — More than 60 trade associations have told federal regulators that they fear that Union Pacific’s proposed $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern will raise rates, hurt service, and put too much traffic under control of a single railroad. “History has shown that increased rail consolidation leads to fewer choices, higher transportation costs, service […]
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WASHINGTON — BNSF Railway has revived its efforts to serve a pair of quarries located on Union Pacific trackage in Texas and Arkansas. UP and Southern Pacific served the locations prior to UP’s 1996 acquisition of the SP. As a condition of regulatory approval of the merger, BNSF was granted the right to serve so-called […]
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Genesee & Wyoming has unveiled the latest in a series of locomotives honoring America’s 250th anniversary — and the first in a modified paint scheme reflecting changes after two units were originally painted with a lighter blue as the primary color. The Buffalo & Pittsburgh locomotive, C44-9W No. 4434, features a Liberty Bell design. It […]
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WASHINGTON — Rail trespassing and suicide fatalities increased by 70% between 2016 and 2025, and now account for 50% of all fatalities reported to the National Transit Database, the Federal Transit Administration said in a safety advisory issued Monday, Nov. 24. Advisory 25-1 calls on state agencies overseeing rail transit operations to direct those operators […]
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PHILADELPHIA — The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority will receive an extra $219.9 million in state funding to address infrastructure work and safety issues, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced today. The money will come from the state’s Public Transit Trust Fund, the source of money for capital projects that was also used to keep SEPTA at […]
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KINGSPORT, Tenn. — The CSX Santa Train distributed more than 15,000 toys, 6,000 train safety books, and 5,700 backpacks filled with gifts, gloves, and hats on Saturday (Nov. 22) as part of part of its 83rd trip on a 110-mile route through Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. “The CSX Santa Train embodies the best of what […]
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EAGLE PASS, Texas — Union Pacific last week began using international crews to handle interchange with Grupo Mexico’s Ferromex at the Eagle Pass gateway, the No. 2 U.S.-Mexico rail border crossing. The move shifts the interchange from the International Railway Bridge over the Rio Grande to UP’s Clark Park Yard in Eagle Pass, 7 rail […]
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Pat Ottensmeyer, the late Kansas City Southern chief executive, had a favorite saying: Service begets growth. It’s not the most catchy phrase you’ll ever hear. But it’s true. And nowhere is that more apparent than in New England, where Genesee & Wyoming’s Berkshire & Eastern is growing a bumper crop of freight in the middle […]
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NEW YORK — BNSF Railway, Canadian National, and Canadian Pacific Kansas City are touting interline partnerships as a way to gain new volume without having the regulatory and service-meltdown risks associated with a merger. But Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern say alliances are built on a foundation of sand, and can shift with the whims […]
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LONDON — Train fares in England will be frozen for the first time in 30 years, the British government announced on Sunday, in a move it said would address the cost of living and aid economic growth. “We all want to see cheaper rail travel, so we’re freezing fares to help millions of passengers save […]
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WASHINGTON — Attorneys General in three states — including the headquarters states of both railroads — have announced their support for the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger. In a Nov. 20 letter to Surface Transportation Board Chairman Patrick J. Fuchs, Attorneys General Chris Carr of Georgia, Mike Higlers of Nebraska, and J.B. McCuskey of West […]
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NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has opened a new Railcar Acceptance and Testing Facility, where the MTA will inspect and test new subway cars and other equipment before it is placed into service. The facility — the first new subway-car facility opened by the MTA since 1948 — is near the South Brooklyn Marine […]
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