Residents await word when they can return home after derailment

Aerial view of burning freight cars

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Residents evacuated after Friday’s derailment of a Norfolk Southern train now await word when they might be allowed to return home, although Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine cautioned Monday that it would not be soon. Cleanup of the 50-car derailment involving toxic chemicals is expected to begin to move forward following Monday’s […]

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Concerns over arbitration pushed Cincinnati Southern to accept NS offer

Map of rail line from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Chattanooga, Tenn.

CINCINNATI — Norfolk Southern initially offered little more than half of the current price of $1.2 billion for its proposed purchase of the municipally owned Cincinnati Southern Railway — and the prospect of arbitration ultimately pushed the Cincinnati Southern board to agree to the final figure, WVXU Radio reports. NS and the City of Cincinnati […]

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Controlled release of chemicals at derailment succesfully completed, NS says

Screenshot of fireball and black smoke

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The controlled release of chemicals from derailed tank cars in East Palestine has been successful completed, Norfolk Southern said in a press release this afternoon (Monday, Feb. 6) As reported by the Review of East Liverpool, Ohio, the NS release said the chemical release “has been completed successfully under the supervision […]

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New larger, faster ferries boost CG Railway volume

Ship loaded with railcars at dock

CG Railway’s traffic grew 53% last year thanks to the increased capacity of its new rail ferries, the company said this week. The short line, a joint venture of Genesee & Wyoming and SEACOR Holdings, floats freight cars across the Gulf of Mexico. The route links the ports of Mobile, Ala., and Coatzacoalcos in Veracruz, […]

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Union Pacific named to Fortune’s most admired company list

Yellow locomotives leading train of double-stacked containers over bridge

OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific has been named to Fortune magazine’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies for the 17th time in 21 years. UP is the highest-ranked railroad in the magazine’s Trucking, Transportation, and Logistics category. The annual list is compiled through a survey conducted by global consulting firm Korn Ferry. Executives, directors, […]

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California agency awards more than $2.5 billion for transit projects

Map of light rail project in LA's San Fernando Valley

SACRAMENTO — A $600 million award to L.A. Metro for its East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Corridor project heads the more than $2.5 billion in funding announced this week by the California State Transportation Agency for transit projects, most of them rail-related. The awards are to 16 projects, including funding announced earlier this […]

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Significant intermodal drop keeps January rail traffic below 2022 figure

Weekly table showing U.S. rail traffic by commodity type, plus intermodal totals

WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic began 2023 in sluggish fashion, with overall volume for January down 3.2% from the first month of 2022, according to the Association of American Railroads. Weekly traffic for the week ending Jan. 28 was also down compared to the corresponding week a year earlier. The January figures included a 2.2% […]

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Chicago council approves deal allowing Norfolk Southern to move ahead with yard expansion

Aerial view of railroad yard and surrounding neighborhood

CHICAGO — Norfolk Southern’s effort to expand its 47th Street Yard on Chicago’s South Side has finally cleared a regulatory hurdle from the Chicago City Council. The Chicago Tribune reports that the council voted today (Wednesday, Feb. 1) to approve the land deal necessary for the railroad to expand the yard southward by adding intermodal […]

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Caltrain to receive $367 million from state, completing funding for electrification project

Red and white bilevel commuter train cars round curve

SAN CARLOS, Calif. — Caltrain will receive $367 million in state funding to complete electrification of its San Francisco-San Jose main line, the commuter rail operator announced Tuesday. The funds will come from the state’s Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program, and prevents diversion of operation funding that Caltrain had identified as a possible source […]

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Canadian Pacific reports strong earnings as it awaits merger decision

Green and gray cowl locomotive with blue trim

CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific reported strong fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday and expects to see volume growth this year despite economic uncertainty. The railway’s earnings call was a sideshow to the main event: The pending Surface Transportation Board decision on the proposed CP-Kansas City Southern merger. “We finished the year with the people, capacity […]

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Biden announces $292 million in funding for Hudson tunnel project

President of the U.S. speaking in rail facility surrounded by officials and railroad workers

NEW YORK — On a second consecutive day highlighting plans to support rail infrastructure projects, President Joe Biden said today (Tuesday, Jan. 31) that the federal government would provide $292 million in grants for the early stages of the effort to build new rail tunnels beneath the Hudson River to connect New York and New […]

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MTA runs into early delays with Penn Station Access project

Map showing location of new Metro-North stations in the Bronx

NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority project to bring Metro-North commuter rail service to Penn Station via Amtrak’s Hell Gate Line, while building four new stations in the Bronx, has barely begun — but is already facing notable delays. Bloomberg reports Jamie Torres-Springer, president of MTA Construction and Development, told an MTA board committee […]

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