WASHINGTON — Two U.S. senators have introduced a bill that would extend to passenger train crew members the same legal protections that exist for airline flight crews and attendants. U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) on Thursday, Jan. 15, introduced the “Passenger Rail Crew Protection Act.” It would carry penalties of up […]
CALGARY, Alberta — A total of 16 tentative bargaining agreements covering Canadian Pacific Kansas City workers with various U.S. unions in recent weeks have all been ratified, the railroad announced on Thursday (Jan. 15). The five-year agreements cover approximately 700 railroaders in 11 states. “We are very pleased to see all these agreements ratified and […]
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena had the crowd laughing Thursday (Jan. 15) throughout his talk to the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers, to the point that analyst Anthony B. Hatch, the event’s final speaker, said that he appreciated getting the chance “to do a set at the Vena Comedy Club.” One example […]
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — You could say that Jim Vena’s latest salvo in the war of words over the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger was downright Shakespearean. Which is to say that the Union Pacific CEO thinks the other Class I railroads doth protest too much. “If your competitor was doing something stupid, what would you […]
DARIEN, Conn. — Genesee & Wyoming’s industrial development results in 2025 included 44 projects accounting for more than $1 billion in customer investments along its short line railroads in 16 states. The projects are expected to generate more than 700 jobs in communities along G&W’s U.S. freight railroads and add more than 82,000 carloads, G&W […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway had its safest year ever in 2025. The railroad’s employee personal injury rate improved by 10% compared to the old record set in 2023. Rail equipment incidents improved 13%, which BNSF said enabled it to continue to lead the industry. “I am so proud of what our teams were […]
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Watco is looking to grow its portfolio with the acquisition of a 7-mile short line railroad serving Oak Ridge, Tenn. The short line holding company filed its verified notice of exemption to the Surface Transportation Board on Jan. 8, seeking to acquire and operate 7 miles of rail line and 6.6 […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic showed a big gain in the first full week of 2026. According to statistics from the Association of American Railroads, weekly traffic for the period ending Jan. 10 was 510,457 carloads and intermodal units, a 9.7% gain over the same week in 2025. That included 232,803 carloads, up 16.7% compared […]
Railroads proposing mergers inevitably make ambitious promises and projections, particularly about faster service and more competition. Not all of them become reality, despite the best intentions of railroaders who work at a feverish pace to develop the operating plans submitted to federal regulators. A case in point: CSX, as part of its 1999 acquisition of […]
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — BNSF Railway CEO Katie Farmer still doesn’t see further rail industry consolidation as inevitable if a Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger is approved. Just the fact that the topic keeps being discussed could be taken as an argument against the merger, Farmer said in a conversation with Trains prior to her appearance today […]
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — The CEOs of Canadian Pacific Kansas City and BNSF Railway took aim at the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger during the first day of the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers winter meeting — and urged the rail customers in attendance to voice any concerns they may have to federal regulators. CPKC CEO […]
AYER, Mass. — Norfolk Southern marked a milestone on Tuesday morning when its first New England double-stack train arrived in Ayer, Mass., behind its Conrail and Delaware & Hudson heritage units. With NS engineer Matt Bushart at the throttle and conductor Adam Feeley in the left-hand seat, Chicago-Ayer intermodal train 264 made its inaugural run […]
