TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas Department of Transportation presented a tentative operating schedule for an extension of Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer from Oklahoma City to Newton, Kan. — where it would connect with the Southwest Chief — as part of an online informational meeting Wednesday to seek public comment. The 20-minute presentation included in the meeting […]
WASHINGTON — BNSF Railway and Navajo Transitional Energy Co. have reached a settlement that will end the coal miner’s common carrier complaint against the railroad. The companies today asked the Surface Transportation Board to suspend the case until Jan. 8, 2024, which is when BNSF and NTEC expect to conclude their settlement process. In an […]
Intermodal analyst Larry Gross is fond of pointing out that rather than creating a truly competitive intermodal service that can attract freight from the highway, the Class I railroads have for too long relied on outside forces like truck driver shortages or high diesel fuel prices to push freight their way. The strategy — or […]
J.B. Hunt and BNSF Railway today launched faster, more reliable premium domestic intermodal service that they say will eventually convert millions of truckloads to rail. The Quantum service — which revives a name that Santa Fe and J.B. Hunt used when they began their TOFC alliance in 1989 — shaves as much as a day […]
OMAHA, Neb. — BNSF Railway’s profits, revenue, and volume all declined in the third quarter, parent company Berkshire Hathaway reported on Saturday. BNSF’s pre-tax earnings fell 14.6%, to $1.6 billion, as revenue declined 12.4%, to $5.6 billion. The railway’s operating ratio increased 0.7 points to 68.4%. Overall volume declined 4.8% in the quarter, while average […]
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — SMART-TD members have ratified a tentative agreement with BNSF Railway on scheduling and sick days reached in September, the union said Friday. Approximately two-thirds of the members of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division voted in favor of the agreement, which includes paid sick days and […]
WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board has denied Union Pacific’s request to dismiss a common-carrier case filed by a small shipper in the Twin Cities. In a 3-2 decision issued Thursday, the STB also ordered the shipper, Sanimax, to provide evidence for damages allegedly incurred when UP unilaterally curtailed local service to three days per […]
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board’s probe into the Oct. 15 derailment of a BNSF Railway coal train near Pueblo, Colo., will focus on the railroad’s track maintenance and inspection procedures, the agency said today in its preliminary report on the fatal wreck. Some of the 30 loaded coal gondolas that derailed near a […]
When the bounty of Heartland crops are harvested, much of the grain goes west. Destined for North American ports and then foreign shores, the first leg of that western trek is often aboard commodity cruisers, otherwise known as grain trains. Naturally, railfan/videographer Tom Danneman is poised to capture these heavy haulers in season, and as […]
When the bounty of Heartland crops are harvested, much of the grain goes west. Destined for North American ports and then foreign shores, the first leg of that western trek is often aboard commodity cruisers, otherwise known as grain trains. Naturally, railfan/videographer Tom Danneman is poised to capture these heavy haulers in season, and as […]
CHICAGO — The Chicago-Seattle/Portland, Ore., Empire Builder is finally on the road to recovery after incurring significant challenges during the past week following a late October High Plains snowstorm and related issues. A series of delays throughout the week culminated in eastbound train No. 8 departing Seattle more than 5 hours late on Saturday, Oct. […]
PUEBLO, Colo. — Southbound lanes of Interstate 25 reopened this afternoon (Wednesday, Oct. 18) at the site of Sunday’s derailment and fatal bridge collapse involving a BNSF Railway coal train, the Colorado State Patrol reported on social media. Northbound lanes are expected to reopen Thursday Meanwhile, BNSF says the rail line at the site of […]
