BARSTOW, Calif. — The federal government is seeking comment on a proposed sale of land to BNSF Railway as part of the railroad’s planned Barstow International Gateway project. The Victorville Daily Press reports the Bureau of Land Management published a Notice of Realty Action in the Federal Register on Wednesday, Aug. 28, on the proposed […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority eliminated six speed restrictions as a result of its latest major track project, a suspension of service between the Red Line’s JFK/UMass and Kendall/MIT stations Aug. 19-26. Plans were to address five slow orders, but a sixth identified during the service suspension was also taken care of. “We […]
WITTMANN, Ariz. — Residents of the unincorporated communities of Wittmann and Circle City say they oppose BNSF Railway’s efforts to build a new intermodal and carload logistics hub northwest of Phoenix. BNSF said earlier this year it would build the project on more than 4,300 acres in northwest Maricopa County, 36 rail miles from downtown […]
WASHINGTON — The probable cause of a fatal September 2022 collision on Union Pacific’s Sunset Route was the routing of an intermodal train into a passing siding that was occupied by 74 empty intermodal cars, a move that was made possible by the inappropriate removal of a computer-aided dispatching system block on the siding, the […]
HOMEWOOD, Ill. — Canadian National has named its Woodcrest Shops after former Chief Operating Officer Ed Harris, who began his railroad career at the Illinois Central facility outside Chicago. “We were thrilled to welcome recently retired CN COO and railroading veteran Ed Harris back for a very special visit and surprise, as we renamed our […]
LONDON — A breakthrough in the long-running series of British rail engineer strikes was announced in mid-August, when talks led by the new government agreed a pay raise of around 5% for each of the last three years for engineers at 16 English passenger rail companies which have government contracts. The trade union representing train […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — A Canadian judge has overturned a lower-court ruling that found CPKC in contempt of court in a case regarding excessive hours worked by train crews. The Canadian Press reports Federal Court of Appeal Justice Donald Rennie acquitted the railroad, writing in his ruling that it is “impossible to rationalize a finding of […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic saw another surge in the week ending Aug. 24, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. U.S. railroads handled 516,807 carloads and intermodal units, a 9.5% increase over the same week in 2023. That included 228,858 carloads, up 1.2%, and 287,949 containers and trailers, up 17.1%. This followed […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — Canada’s Transport Minister, Pablo Rodriguez, has reappointed one member and announced new appointments of three others to the VIA Rail Canada board of directors. The VIA appointees announced Wednesday, Aug. 28, were among 26 appointments to 11 transportation-related organizations overseen by the federal government. Others included port authorities in Montreal and Prince […]
RICHMOND, Va. —The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority board of directors has approved a recently negotiated plan with Norfolk Southern to acquire the railroad’s former Southern Railway route out of Alexandria, Va., to Manassas, Va., and gain Amtrak train access to the NS main line beyond Roanoke, Va., to Christiansburg, Va. In a press release, the […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Shortline operator Pinsly Railroad Co. today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Hondo Railway, a short line railroad company in Hondo, Texas, just west of San Antonio. Pinsly and its partner, Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, have requested that the transaction be exempt from Surface Transportation Board review, as is common […]
WASHINGTON — BNSF Railway’s safety practices are improving and the company has a commitment to safety, according to a Federal Railroad Administration review. But FRA recommended that BNSF take steps to foster trust between management and labor, better respond to safety concerns fairly and consistently, and to improve training for new employees and maintenance of […]
