The Wednesday morning rail roundup: — In a significant blow to the fledgling commuter rail service, California voters in Sonoma and Marin counties have turned down a measure extending the quarter-cent sales tax that funds Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit. Approval of the measure would have guaranteed funding through 2059, the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reports; without […]
Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Feb. 29, 2020, as well as volumes for February 2020. U.S. railroads originated 927,084 carloads in February 2020, down 7.3%, or 73,058 carloads, from February 2019. U.S. railroads also originated 997,683 containers and trailers in […]
New MARS President Stefan Loeb, left, is congratulated by outgoing president Tom Surma, who was honored for his leadership at the 2020 Winter Meeting in January. MARS submitted photo CHICAGO — The Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS) elected its 2020 slate of officers at the annual winter meeting earlier in January. The 2020 MARS […]
More Tuesday rail news: — Following the lead of several airlines, Amtrak says it will waive ticket-change fees for travelers wishing to change plans because of concerns over the coronavirus that has killed six people in the U.S. In a statement on its website, the passenger railroad says it will waive the fees on new […]
Tuesday morning rail news: — Union Pacific and the city of Palestine, Texas, have been ordered to go to mediation over UP’s efforts to do away with a 150-year-old agreement requiring the railroad to keep a set number of jobs in the community. The Palestine Herald-Press reports a federal court is requiring the sites to […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific says federal regulators should not allow a firm controlled by New York City real estate magnates to poach its long-dormant route over Tennessee Pass using a legal maneuver designed to preserve rail service. UP will formally oppose KCVN LLC and Colorado Pacific Railroad LLC’s plan to acquire the 228-mile former Denver […]
UP performance numbers presented this week at a conference in Florida. Union Pacific GRANDE LAKES, Fla. – Union Pacific’s intermodal on-time performance improved in January, but the reliability of the railroad’s merchandise and automotive traffic deteriorated, partly due to the impact of the idling of the hump at Davidson Yard in Fort Worth, Texas. For the […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) today announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to apply for $8.5 million in Fiscal Year 2020 competitive grant funding for projects that help lift communities out of poverty and support recovery from substance abuse. The new Helping Obtain Prosperity for Everyone (HOPE) program […]
WASHINGTON — Local legislators and recipients are beginning to announce that they have been awarded Federal Railroad Administration grants for infrastructure projects. The Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) grants can be used for passenger projects, grade-crossing improvements, capacity projects and other rail projects. Among those announced so far: — $21.5 million to the […]
Government officials and an indigenous group in British Columbia have reached a tentative deal on a gas pipeline, the subject of protests which led to blockades of rail lines across Canada. While one blockade remains in place, Canadian National has begun recalling workers laid off during the protests, while VIA Rail Canada expects to restore […]
More Monday morning rail news: — A draft environment statement says that building California’s high speed rail system from Bakersfield to Palmdale, Calif., across the Tehachapi Mountains would cost $18.1 billion and force the removal or relocation of more than 300 businesses and 250 residential units in the Lancaster-Palmdale area. The Los Angeles Times reports […]
Stan Gentry presents the V&T Lyon to Dan Thielen, director of Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City. NSRM CARSON CITY, Nevada – The old saying that legends never die might also be said about old locomotives. Many of those iron horses, long lost to time or the scrap heap, live on through historic photographs, […]
