‘Canadian,’ Rocky Mountaineer, ‘Coast Starlight disrupted by fires

Parked passenger train under smoky skies

KAMLOOPS, British Columbia — VIA Rail Canada’s Canadian, luxury cruise train Rocky Mountaineer, and Amtrak’s Coast Starlight have had their operations disrupted by western wildfires, with trains running over only part of their routes because of fire damage. The wildfire that decimated the town of Lytton, B.C., halted last week’s westbound Canadian about 100 miles […]

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Analysis: Are trailers reaching the end of the intermodal road?

Black locomotive with train of trailers in the Midwest

  Intermodal analyst Larry Gross has gone out on a limb. In his latest “Intermodal in Depth” report, Gross predicts the demise of TOFC, or trailer on flatcar service, within the next four years. In some ways, this shouldn’t be a surprise. Trailers have become a smaller and smaller part of the intermodal world as […]

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Amtrak challenges CN plan for Kansas City Southern line in Louisiana

Black, white, and red locomotives pulling tank cars

WASHINGTON — Amtrak has questioned Canadian National’s plan to sell Kansas City Southern’s route between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La., as part of the planned merger of the two railroads, a plan which would see CN retain the right to operate on the route along with a freight tenant. The Amtrak comment came as […]

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Shipper groups, Amtrak, rail labor oppose CN-KCS merger plans

Canadian National and Kansas City Southern logos

WASHINGTON – Canadian National says it now has more than 1,700 letters of support for its proposed merger with Kansas City Southern. But in a flurry of regulatory filings submitted before a deadline on Monday, opposition grew to CN’s plan to put KCS in a voting trust while the merger is under review. Major shipping […]

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Canadian National touts additional support for proposed KCS merger

Canadian National and Kansas City Southern logos

MONTREAL – Canadian National and Kansas City Southern note that their proposed combination continues to gain support, with letters from customers, suppliers, elected officials, and other stakeholders being filed with the Surface Transportation Board. Nearly 200 additional letters have been sent to CN and KCS and filed with the STB, bringing the total number of […]

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CN announces 2021 capital plans for Canada

Canadian National logo

MONTREAL — Canadian National has released province-by-province plans for capital investments in its Canadian routes during 2021 as part of its C$3 billion capital plan. The railroad plans to replace more than 340 miles of rail in the eight provinces where it operates, in addition to bridge, culvert, signal, and general track infrastructure work across Canada. […]

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Digest: Local union groups file support for CN-KCS voting trust (updated)

Logo of SMART-TD union

Contradicting national leader, three local union groups support CN-KCS voting trust; another union also expresses support Three local committees of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Union Transportation Division(SMART-TD) representing Canadian National workers have filed letters of support for the CN-Kansas City Southern voting trust proposal, CN says in a press release. The union’s […]

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NS, CN, and KCS are hiring conductors to meet rising traffic demand

Black locomotives followed by cars carrying truck trailers

WASHINGTON – The chief executives of Norfolk Southern, Canadian National, and Kansas City Southern have told federal regulators that their railroads are hiring conductors to meet expected traffic demand as volume continues to rise. Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman, responding to shipper complaints about rail service as traffic has rebounded from the pandemic, […]

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Digest: MARC commuter trains to resume full schedule in August

MARC commuter rail logo

After nine months of reduced service, full MARC schedule to resume Aug. 30 MARC commuter trains will resume full operations on Aug. 30, nine months after reducing service in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Baltimore Sun reports that Maryland Transit Adminstration officials announced the restoration of MARC and commuter bus service on Monday, while […]

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Analysis: The Precision Scheduled Railroading Pivot to Growth is a myth

Red locomotive with freight in Illinois

If you believe the storyline, Precision Scheduled Railroading has two chapters. The first is an obsession with costs and efficiency that ultimately results in a railroad that moves its tonnage with far fewer locomotives, freight cars, shops, yards, and people. The second chapter is the so-called Pivot to Growth, in which the lean-and-mean railroad uses […]

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Distinctive Canadian grain hoppers near end of the line

Cylindrical grain hopper cars off wheels, on ground

WELLAND, Ontario — The Canadian grain scene is starting to become a lot less cylindrical. For the last 50 years Canadian Wheat Board cylindrical covered hoppers have dominated Canadian rails as the main way prairie farmers moved large grain shipments to coastal ports for export. But with Canadian National and Canadian Pacific investing in new […]

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STB seeks more detail on CN-KCS merger, sets timeline for voting trust comments

Surface Transportation Board logo

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 […]

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