Gibson City, Ill., located in the heart of Central Illinois’ grain-growing region, is the headquarters for the Bloomer Shippers Connecting Railroad, otherwise known as the Bloomer Line. Gibson City also serves as a junction and interchange point for two Class I railroads, Canadian National and Norfolk Southern. CN runs up to two locals a day […]
Nestled among hillside dairy farms, corn fields, and rock quarries, Byron Hill, Wis., sees more than 20 trains per day on Canadian National’s busy Waukesha Subdivision. Positioned halfway between Fond du Lac and Lomira, Wis., the main line is paralleled by two vital roadways, Highways 175 and 41. Branching off of those main arteries are […]
Three Canadian National locomotives have been repainted into heritage paint schemes, and more are reportedly on the way. Photographs circulating on the internet show locomotives painted in Grand Trunk blue and red; the red, white, and blue BC Rail paint scheme; and the black Illinois Central scheme known to railfans as the “death star” design. […]
More Monday morning rail news: CN sets Canadian grain record for seventh straight month Canadian National moved a record amount of Canadian grain for the seventh straight month, transporting 2.43 million metric tons of grain in September. The railroad moved 7.76 million metric tons in the third quarter of 2020. As is the case with […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National’s traffic is accelerating back to normal levels, driven by strong growth in intermodal, grain, lumber, and frac sand traffic. “We are clearly seeing a recovery happening,” Chief Financial Officer Ghislain Houle told an investor conference on Thursday. Last week the railway’s domestic intermodal volume was up 30%, international intermodal gained 19%, […]
Friday morning rail news: CN, CP call Saskatoon shared-main proposal ‘unworkable’ The proposal by the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to have Canadian National and Canadian Pacific share a rail corridor through the city to decrease traffic disruptions has been shot down by both railroads. CTV News reports both railroads sent letters to City Manager Jeff […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National is working to build what it’s calling “intermodal of the future” by experimenting with terminal improvements and fully integrating the operations and people from its recent trucking-company acquisitions. “We know that in order to compete down the road with the truck, that we have to not only be safer, more efficient […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National is recalling furloughed train crews and pulling locomotives and freight cars out of storage as traffic rebounds. “We are pivoting to recovery,” Chief Financial Officer Ghislain Houle told a webcast on Wednesday, noting strong growth trends in domestic intermodal, Canadian grain, and Canadian coal traffic. Overall, CN’s July traffic was 5% […]
More Friday morning rail news: CN marks record grain year, releases plan for 2020-21 Canadian National announced completion of a record year for grain movement on Thursday, and said it would dedicate more equipment to the commodity next year as part of its 2020-21 Grain Plain. CN moved more than 30 million metric tons of […]
Thursday midday rail news: CN to spend more than $520 on U.S. capital work Canadian National will spend more than $520 million on capital projects in the United States, according to state-by-state plans released this week. Notable projects include work on Chicago’s St. Charles Air Line bridge; a new auto facility in New Richmond, Wis; […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National plans to spin off 850 miles of low-density routes in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ontario, the railway said today while announcing its quarterly financial results. Railroad officials did not specify which lines will be marketed for sale to short line operators. But executives say the bulk of the routes on the block […]
Saturday morning rail news: TSB report cites CN crew error in sideswipe accident with VIA train The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has released its report on a September 2019 sideswipe collision between a VIA Rail Canada train and two tank cars in Ernestown, Ontario, finding that switching moves by a Canadian National crew caused […]
