Lenox Tower project complete, Illinois DOT announces

Freight train crosses tracks near building being demolished

  MITCHELL, Ill. — A $10.1 million project to reconfigure and modernize rail operations at Lenox Tower, a key rail junction northeast of St. Louis, has been completed, the Illinois Department of Transportation has announced. The joint federal and state project, also funded by Amtrak and freight railroads, was announced more than a year ago […]

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Athearn Genesis General Electric Dash 9-44CW diesel locomotive

Orange and dark green diesel locomotive with no logos

General Electric Dash 9-44CW diesel locomotive Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Direct-current model with 21-pin NEM connector, $259.99; with dual-mode SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound decoder, $359.99. Add $10 for Primed for Grime models. Era: 1994+ to present (varies depending on scheme) Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com General Electric Dash 9-44CW diesel locomotive features: Trainline and […]

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Chicago-area opponents ask regulators to delay decision on CP-KCS merger

Freight train with black locomotive passes commuter rail station

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — Illinois politicians and members of the suburban group opposed to the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger are calling on the Surface Transportation Board to delay its decision on the merger until it can conduct a separate study on the impact in the Chicago area. In a Tuesday press conference, U.S. Sen. Dick […]

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Train dispatchers ratify Class I railroad contract agreement

WASHINGTON — Train dispatchers today became the fourth union to ratify their contract agreement with the Class I railroads. The American Train Dispatchers Association, which represents 1,500 dispatchers, voted in favor of the deal by a 64%-36% margin, the union said in a statement. The agreement follows the recommendations of the Presidential Emergency Board, which […]

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CP and KCS to make their case for merger in final day of STB hearings

Red, yellow, and black locomotive at grade crossing

WASHINGTON – Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern will make their closing arguments for their merger on Thursday, the sixth and final day of Surface Transportation Board hearings on the first Class I railroad combination in two decades. CP and KCS also will rebut criticism and comments from other railroads, state and local officials, and […]

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STB gets an earful about KCS-NS Meridian Speedway joint venture

NS9656

WASHINGTON – Surface Transportation Board members appear skeptical about CSX Transportation’s bid to force its way on to the Kansas City Southern-Norfolk Southern Meridian Speedway. The Meridian Speedway — which runs from Meridian, Miss., to Shreveport, La., — is the shortest, fastest route between the Southeast and Southwest. NS and KCS formed the Meridian Speedway […]

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UP, BNSF say CP-KCS merger traffic will melt down Houston terminal

Train of auto racks meets locomotives

WASHINGTON – Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern executives say there’s plenty of capacity in Houston to handle the eight additional trains per day they’ll run through the busy terminal within three years after their merger. But Union Pacific and BNSF Railway told federal regulators, in testimony Thursday and Friday, that they have grave concerns […]

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Regulators add three days to CP-KCS hearing

Surface Transportation Board logo

WASHINGTON – The three-day Surface Transportation Board hearing on the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger has ballooned to a six-day hearing. Testimony and questioning are taking longer than anticipated, STB Chairman Martin J. Oberman said at the start of the session this morning (Friday, Sept. 30) , which had been scheduled to be the […]

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Canadian National warns regulators that CP-KCS merger could hurt service and competition

Train with two locomotives at rural grade crossing

WASHINGTON — Canadian National, which lost the battle for Kansas City Southern to rival Canadian Pacific last year, tried to plant seeds of doubt about the CP-KCS merger in lengthy testimony before federal regulators on Thursday. CN was critical of the operating plan CP and KCS prepared, telling the Surface Transportation Board that it was […]

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CP and KCS tout and defend their merger on first day of regulatory hearings

Container train under overhead signals

WASHINGTON — On Wednesday’s first day of public hearings regarding their proposed merger, Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern sought to blunt criticism of their $31 billion combination by preemptively addressing concerns raised by other Class I railroads, Chicago-area commuter railroad Metra, and lineside communities in the Midwest. Merger opponents — including Metra and communities […]

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Clinton, Iowa, approves agreement with Canadian Pacific

Canadian Pacific Railway beaver logo

CLINTON, Iowa — Clinton’s city council has unanimously approved a $1 million agreement with Canadian Pacific to address impacts of its proposed merger with Kansas City Southern, KWQC-TV reports. Under the agreement passed Tuesday night, the city will receive the funds if the Surface Transportation Board approves the first merger of two Class I railroads […]

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