Railroads have what you could call a one-train problem. That is to say they offer but one daily departure from Point A to Point B. A case in point is Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian, which links New York City and Pittsburgh. Earlier this month I wanted to ride Amtrak to a rail shippers conference in the Steel […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern will make grants of $400,000 to 31 food banks in 22 states served by the railroad, the company announced this week. “Every community is home to families impacted by food insecurity,” Kristin Wong, NS director of corporate giving, said in a press release. “Norfolk Southern is furthering its partnership with more […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern is revising its managerial structure, creating a combined Transportation and Network Operations organization to be led by Paul B. Duncan. Duncan, who is being promoted to senior vice president, transportation and network operations, will lead a team responsible for designing network operations, executing network plans, and coordinating train movements, the railroad […]
CHICAGO — Union Pacific has selected engineering firm HDR to provide final track design and engineering work for the UP-led portion of the 80th Street Junction Replacement project, part of the CREATE program’s larger 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project. HRD will produce design for relocation of two Union Pacific mainline tracks between 80th Street and […]
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 […]
WASHINGTON — In a Tuesday evening update to its original advisory, Amtrak has now cancelled all northbound and southbound departures of the New York-Miami Silver Star, and the Lorton, Va.-Sanford, Fla., Auto Train, through Friday because of the approaching Hurricane Ian. Also cancelled is the Saturday, Oct. 1, northbound departure of the Silver Star from […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Proceedings on Tuesday granted a request by all parties involved to extend board-sponsored mediation regarding Amtrak’s effort to launch Gulf Coast passenger service to Oct. 11. The request was granted without additional comment. Amtrak, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and the Alabama State Port Authority had filed the […]
WASHINGTON – The machinists’ union has reached a second tentative agreement with Class I railroads, just under two weeks after the rank and file rejected the union’s first tentative deal. “We are pleased to announce that the nation’s freight railroads have reached a tentative agreement with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM),” […]
PITTSBURGH – In order to attract, hire, and retain conductors – and avoid crew shortages that snarl operations and hurt service – Class I railroads need to make the job more appealing to today’s workers. That was the consensus of shippers, railroaders, and analysts who spoke at the North East Association of Rail Shippers conference […]
NEW YORK – Coal is enjoying a day in the sun amid low stockpiles at power plants and high natural gas prices. Overall railroad coal volumes have improved since the second quarter of 2021 and the trend is expected to continue into next year. But then a wave of coal-fired power plant retirements will put […]
WASHINGTON — The parties involved in the dispute over Amtrak’s effort to launch Gulf Coast passenger service have asked the Surface Transportation Board for a second extension for their current board-sponsored mediation. In a request filed Friday, Amtrak, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and the Alabama State Port Authority jointly requested the board extend mediation by […]
PITTSBURGH — Service on the big four U.S. Class I railroads is improving slowly but remains uneven amid ongoing and sporadic crew shortages, shippers said this week at the North East Association of Rail Shippers conference. One thing that’s helped improve service is the resumption of hump operations at several yards over the past few […]
