ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern’s second-quarter earnings took a hit from costs related to the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment, which more than doubled to $803 million and consumed 42% of the railroad’s operating income. “Our financial results were challenged this quarter … They reflect the decisive actions we have taken to advance our strategy and keep […]
BURNABY, British Columbia — Ballard Power Systems will provide 18 additional hydrogen fuel cell engines to Canadian Pacific Kansas City for expansion of the CPKC hydrogen locomotive program, Ballard announced today (July 27). The 200-kilowatt engines are planned for delivery this year. Specific details on CPKC’s plans for their locomotive use were not immediately available. […]
Norfolk Southern and the union representing conductors will collaborate on efforts to improve the training program for conductor trainees and increase compensation for conductors who provide the training, the two parties announced Wednesday. The agreement by NS and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division (SMART-TD) comes after the Federal […]
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — Police in Chambersburg have cited CSX Transportation 49 times this year for violation of a state blocked-crossing law, the local newspaper reports. The railroad is seeking to invalidate those citations on the grounds the law is not enforceable. The Chambersburg Public Opinion reports Chambersburg police began tracking issues at Orchard Drive in […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has now brought 117 of its stations into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and made another 67 stations accessible under its ADA Act Stations Program, the passenger operator said Wednesday in an update on its accessibility efforts. Another 39 stations are scheduled for completion this year at a forecast cost […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic remains about 3% below 2022 levels in the latest weekly statistics from the Association of American Railroads, maintaining a trend in recent weeks. For the week ending July 22, total U.S. rail volume was 473,736 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.2% decline from the same week a year earlier. That […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — Pablo Rodriguez has been named Canada’s Transport Minister as part of a large-scale reshuffling of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet announced Wednesday. Rodriguez replaces Omar Alghabra, who departed after announcing he would not seek reelection to Parliament [see “Canadian Transport Minister Alghabra to step down,” Trains News Wire, July 25, 2023]. Rodriguez […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific today lowered its volume outlook for the year as soft demand across its bulk, industrial, and premium business segments led to lower second quarter revenue and profits. As recently as June, UP expected its volume this year to exceed the level of industrial production, which at the time was forecast […]
MONTREAL and PITTSBURGH — Canadian National has placed an order with Wabtec to modernize 60 Dash-9 locomotives in CN’s existing fleet, the two companies have announced. The new order builds on a previous 50-unit order and will bring the total modernized fleet to 110 locomotives. The locomotives involved will be converted from DC to AC-powered […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific today named Jim Vena, its former chief operating officer, as the railroad’s next chief executive. The announcement comes five months after one of UP’s largest investors publicly demanded that the board oust CEO Lance Fritz and hire Vena as his replacement [see “Union Pacific to seek new CEO …,” Trains […]
MARSHALL, Texas — A wide variety of state and local officials, as well as current and former representatives of Amtrak and its host railroads, assembled last week to honor two people in large part responsible for keeping alive a proposed extension of Amtrak’s Crescent between Meridian, Miss., and Fort Worth, Texas. Retired Harrison County Judge […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National has lowered its outlook for the year in light of the slowing economy and the impact of Canadian wildfires, flooding, and the two-week port strike in British Columbia. CN, in reporting lower earnings on Tuesday, pushed its volume recovery expectations into next year instead of later this year. Second-quarter volume was […]
