Federal regulators to hold hearings on rail service problems

Surface Transportation Board logo

WASHINGTON – Federal regulators have ordered officials from BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific to appear a two-day hearing this month regarding ongoing rail service problems. The Surface Transportation Board announced on Thursday that it will hold the public hearings on April 26 and 27. The announcement comes in the wake of […]

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Norfolk Southern donates Norfolk & Western archives to Virginia museum

Logo of Norfolk & Western Railway

RICHMOND, Va. — Norfolk Southern has donated its complete collection of documents and archives from predecessor Norfolk & Western Railway to the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, NS announced on Wednesday. Along with the collection, which dates to the 1840s, the company will donate $750,000 in support digitization, cataloging and preservation of the materials. […]

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NS, Commtrex partner to improve access to transload facilities

Norfolk Southern logo

ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern and rail logistics information platform Commtrex are combining to improve customer access to transload facilities on the railroad’s network, the companies have announced. NS customers will be able to use the Commtrex database to find rail-served facilities by location, commodities handled, or other parameters. NS has 32 transload facilities in its […]

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STB Gulf Coast hearing Day 3: NS testimony focuses on limitations of connection in New Orleans

Passenger train approaches curve with freight train on adjacent track

WASHINGTON — Norfolk Southern’s view of the impact of potential Amtrak service was a focal point of Wednesday’s third day of hearings on the passenger carrier’s effort to launch two daily round trips between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. Testifying in the Surface Transportation Board’s online hearing, Randall Hunt, the railroad’s senior director of interline […]

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STB Gulf Coast hearing, Day 2: Testimony explains CSX train movements (updated)

Map showing seven drawbridges on rail line between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala.

WASHINGTON — The slow pace of the Surface Transportation Board hearing on Amtrak Gulf Coast service continued Tuesday, the proceeding’s second day, when just one additional witness testified and was questioned. But the appearance of that witness, CSX Senior Vice President of Mechanical and Engineering Ricky Johnson, provided significant insight into how CSX operates on […]

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Norfolk Southern names Hudson vice president of transportation

ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has promoted Floyd Hudson, general manager of the Southern Region, to vice president of transportation. “Floyd has been a leader in our work to implement Precision Scheduled Railroading and achieve continuous improvement in our operating ratio. He has played a central role in the flawless execution of our PSR-based TOP21 operating […]

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Start of Gulf Coast hearing brings questions about STB’s ability to order improvements

Man at microphone in dark room

WASHINGTON — Monday’s first day of a Surface Transportation Board hearing on Amtrak’s request to initiate service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., moved so slowly that some attorneys speculated that the four days this week allotted for the hearing may not be enough. In almost eight hours, the hearing barely progressed past opening statements […]

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Union blames train crew shortage on cutbacks related to Precision Scheduled Railroading (updated)

Logo of SMART-TD union

WASHINGTON — Ongoing service problems related to crew shortages on the U.S. Class I railroads are entirely self-inflicted due to the implementation of Precision Scheduled Railroading, the SMART Transportation Division labor union has told federal regulators. “The freight rail network is at a breaking point,” union President Jeremy Ferguson wrote in an April 1 letter […]

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STB denies mediation request in Amtrak Gulf Coast case

Surface Transportation Board logo

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has turned down a request to order mediation in the Amtrak Gulf Coast case. CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and the Alabama State Port Authority/Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks had requested mediation, which Amtrak had opposed. In the decision released today (Friday, April 1), the board says it “unfortunate” that […]

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Coast Guard to communicate with STB, rather than parties in Gulf Coast dispute

Logo of the U.S. Coast Guard

WASHINGTON — A U.S. Coast Guard official asked to meet with the parties involved in the Amtrak Gulf Coast dispute says the service branch will deal directly with federal regulators, the parties have informed the Surface Transportation Board. In a joint filing Monday by Amtrak, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and the Alabama State Port Authority […]

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CSX, NS ask regulators to order mediation in Amtrak Gulf Coast case (updated)

Surface Transportation Board logo

WASHINGTON — The three parties opposing Amtrak’s effort to launch Gulf Coast passenger service have asked the Surface Transportation Board to require mediation in the case, set for a hearing before the board in April. Amtrak has filed a response opposing the request. In a Friday, March 25, joint filing, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and […]

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Grain shippers complain about delays on BNSF, NS, and UP

Freight train passing grain elevator

WASHINGTON — The trade group representing grain producers says severe delays on BNSF Railway, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific have forced its members to shut down flour mills as well as feed mills that produce food for livestock. The National Grain and Feed Association outlined the rail service problems in a letter posted to the […]

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