MRL and BNSF detour trains as Yellowstone River bridge derailment cleanup progresses (updated)

Aerial view of collapsed bridge and railcars in river

REED POINT, Mont. — The Montana Rail Link bridge over the Yellowstone River, which collapsed on Saturday, passed inspections in November 2022 and last month, railroad President Joe Racicot said at a unified command news conference on Monday evening. “We feel confident that this bridge was suitable for stream flows,” Racicot says. A combination of […]

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Norfolk Southern completes soil removal work beneath East Palestine main line

Aerial view of two railroad tracks and soil removal work

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Norfolk Southern has completed removal of soil underneath and between tracks of its main line through East Palestine, the railroad announced Monday, completing a process that had been ongoing since the Feb. 3 derailment. “We promised to listen to residents and support East Palestine for the long haul. Fully cleaning up […]

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Canadian agricultural firm to expand elevators served by CPKC

Train of hopper cars with grain elevator in background

CALGARY — Canadian agricultural firm Richardson International will expand eight grain elevators served by CPKC in Western Canada, allowing them to be served in the future by the railroad’s 8,500-foot High Efficiency Product trains. Work on the elevators in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta will start this summer and be complete by the end of 2024, […]

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Genesee & Wyoming to buy 69 locomotives from Wabtec pre-owned program

Three locomotives lead train reflected in water

PITTSBURGH — Genesee & Wyoming will purchase 69 locomotives from Wabtec, the manufacturer’s largest order under its certified pre-owned program. The order includes 35 Dash 9 and 34 Dash 8 locomotives for the Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad; Chicago, Ft. Wayne & Eastern Railroad; Connecticut Southern Railroad; Indiana & Ohio Railroad; New England Central Railroad; and […]

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Penn Station remodel to move forward without high-rise development

Rendering of open interior area of passenger station

NEW YORK — Plans to remodel Penn Station will move forward without being tied to a controversial plan to build adjacent high-rise office buildings, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday. Previously, plans had called for up to $7 billion in funding for the station remodel to come from development of 10 skyscrapers — nine […]

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Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 No. 2816 undergoes stationary steam test

CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 No. 2816 underwent a stationary steam test last week as part of its overhaul before a trip this summer to Mexico City in celebration of the CP-Kansas City Southern merger. The locomotive also moved out of the shop under its own power and moved about the yard. CPKC’s steam […]

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House legislation would provide more investigators for NTSB

intermodal train approaches curve with bluffs as backdrop

WASHINGTON — A U.S. legislator from Wisconsin has introduced a bill to fund additional investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board, part of the ongoing increase in rail legislation that has followed the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment in February. However, the bill by Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Prairie du Chien), the Rail Inspector Safety Act, […]

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CPKC releases 2022 sustainability report, first for merged railroad

Freight train with two locomotives

CALGARY — CPKC has released its 2022 Sustainability Data Report, which separately presents environmental, social, and governance accomplishments of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern in 2022, as well as insights on combined plans for the merged railroads. The report highlights such events and activities as: — Canadian Pacific’s hydrogen locomotive program, which saw the […]

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Bridge collapses beneath Montana Rail Link train

Railroad bridge collapsed into river with railroad cars in water

COLUMBUS, Mont. — A bridge collapsed beneath a Montana Rail Link train Saturday morning, sending cars carrying asphalt and molten sulphur into the Yellowstone River and creating drinking-water issues downstream. The Billings Gazette reports the accident occurred about 6:45 a.m.; the Stillwater County Department of Emergency Services says three cars of hot asphalt and four […]

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NTSB East Palestine hearing focuses on role of car inspection, wayside detectors

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The National Transportation Safety Board put a spotlight on Norfolk Southern’s car inspection practices and railroad industry wayside detector standards during its second day of field hearings on the disastrous Feb. 3 derailment of NS train 32N in this town on the Pennsylvania border. The derailment, which spilled hazardous materials initially […]

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Judge dismisses preservation group’s appeal of permits for new BNSF bridge in Bismarck

BNSF train crossing river bridge in winter

BISMARCK, N.D. — A state judge in North Dakota has dismissed a permit appeal by the preservation group seeking to block demolition of BNSF Railway’s 140-year-old bridge over the Missouri River. The Bismarck Tribune reports that South Central Judicial District Court Judge Jackson Lofgren on Friday dismissed on technical grounds the appeal by the Friends […]

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STB orders BNSF to haul more coal for Powder River Basin company

orange locomotive and train comes around curve in Wyoming

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators today ordered BNSF Railway to haul more coal from Navajo Transitional Energy Co.’s Spring Creek mine in Montana to tidewater in British Columbia. The Surface Transportation Board’s 3-2 decision, which stemmed from a common-carrier complaint and emergency service order request from the coal producer, requires BNSF to transport 4.2 million tons […]

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