WASHINGTON — The trade association representing chemical shippers has asked federal regulators to put CSX Transportation under increased scrutiny due to what one company called an “operations meltdown.” Members of the American Chemistry Council reported “significant and persistent” railroad service problems, particularly with CSX. But Kansas City Southern and Norfolk Southern also were cited for […]
ATLANTA — As of this week with its return to daily departures from New York and New Orleans, the schedule for Amtrak’s Crescent has been lengthened. This is “to improve customer satisfaction and on-time reliability,” according to a service change advistory. But the adjustments, especially for the northbound train, threaten historically strong patronage on the […]
Amtrak offering USA Rail Pass at $200 savings Amtrak is relaunching its USA Rail Pass by offering the 10-ride pass for $299 through June 22, a savings of $200 over the regular price. The electronic pass allows up to 10 segments of coach travel in a 30-day period; trips involving a connection will count for […]
PALESTINE, Texas — Union Pacific is advancing plans to close its Palestine Car Shop even as legal efforts continue by the city of Palestine and Anderson County continue to block the closure The Palestine Herald reports employees were told last week they will be furloughed after their shift on June 14. Closure of the shop […]
PITTSBURGH — U.S. Steel will sell its subsidiary which operates the company’s six remaining railroads to a subsidiary of Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors for $640 million, the steelmaker announced Tuesday. Trains Wire reported almost a year ago that U.S. Steel was seeking a buyer for Transtar [see “U.S. Steel looks to sell remaining rail […]
NEW YORK — Sarah Feinberg has been nominated as board chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Janno Lieber has been appointed as the agency’s CEO to fill positions to be vacated by the departure of Patrick J. Foye. Foye, who has been MTA president, chairman, and CEO for four years, will depart July 30 […]
Indian River County ends Brightline lawsuit, reaches agreement on $31.6 million in crossing improvements Longtime Brightline opponent Indian River County, Fla., has agreed to drop its lawsuit against the passenger service over grade crossing improvements along the Florida East Coast rail line used by the passenger carrier. WPBF-TV reports the agreement calls for cooperative efforts […]
NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk Southern continues to convert older D.C.-traction locomotives into A.C.-traction units at a pace of just over 100 locomotives per year. Some 54% of the NS road fleet is now A.C. traction, Chief Financial Officer Mark George told an investor conference today. That’s up from a third of the fleet at the […]
WASHINGTON – Federal regulators today asked Canadian National to provide more detailed financial information regarding its proposed merger with Kansas City Southern. The Surface Transportation Board, saying that it wants to take a cautious approach to CN’s request to put KCS into a voting trust while their $33.6 billion deal is under review, also set […]
The year 2020 was not a good one for tourist railroads. The COVID-19 pandemic closed some lines and forced others to run at greatly reduced capacities. Amazingly, there have been few casualties among the well-established ranks of U.S. tourist railroads. Let’s look at how one immensely popular scenic railroad made it through. John Smith, president […]
Wabtec opens facility at Pittsburgh additive manufacturing process Wabtec has begun operations at Pittsburgh’s Neighborhood 91, becoming the first and anchor tenant for industrial complex devoted to additive manufacturing and 3D printing. The 11,000-square-foot facility will produce brake parts, heat sinks for locomotives, and other components. It is part of a company effort to produce […]
WASHINGTON — An organization which opposes U.S. contracts for Chinese manufacturer CRRC is calling on the new Secretary of Defense to maintain the company’s place on a list of firms tied to China’s military, which can hinder its ability to land new deals. The Rail Security Alliance, funded by a rail trade group, freight car […]
