CP and KCS defend merger, rebut claims of critics including other Class I lines and Metra

Freight train with red locomotives on tracks near river

WASHINGTON — Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern made closing arguments for their proposed merger on Thursday, telling regulators that their combination was in the public interest and that critics either didn’t do their homework or were seeking conditions that would stifle competition. They also said that the CP-KCS merger would not lead to operational […]

Read More…

Amtrak, Delaware receive funds to support rail job training

Amtrak logo.

WILMINGTON, Del. — Amtrak and the Delaware Department of Transportation have been awarded an $11 million grant to fund a new “Railroading 101” training program. The funds from the U.S. Department of Labor will offer a program to develop railroad-related skills. It will also improve job opportunities in Delaware and build a more diverse rail […]

Read More…

Savage to open new transload facility in Southern Utah

Logo of Savage Services

CEDAR CITY, Utah — Logistics and supply-chain firm Savage will open a new transloading facility in Southern Utah, the company has announced. The Savage Railport-Southern Utah will be northwest of Cedar City in Iron County, Utah. Served by Union Pacific, it will provide transloading for agricultural products, construction materials, and other commodities. The new facility, to […]

Read More…

Union Pacific to require upgraded locks on intermodal containers, trailers

Yellow locomotive with train of trailers and containers

OMAHA — Union Pacific is increasing its requirements on how intermodal containers and trailers are locked in an effort to deter theft, the company has informed customers. The 1/8-inch cable or bolt seals, required as of Dec. 5, “are designed to prevent entry to the intermodal container or trailer with ordinary seal removal techniques, such […]

Read More…

Design firm selected for CREATE Pullman Junction project

Map of rail junction in south Chicago

CHICAGO — Engineering and design firm Benesch has been selected by Norfolk Southern to handle final track design for Segment B of CREATE’s EW3 project, the Pullman Junction project on the city’s South Side. The project will involve track infrastructure in a 2-mile segment from the Belt Railway of Chicago’s Commerical Yard, in the vicinity […]

Read More…

U.S. rail traffic dips in September

Weekly table showing U.S. railroad traffic by carload type plus intermodal totals

WASHINGTON — After a brief climb into positive territory in August, U.S. rail traffic once again declined in September, the sixth time in seven months volume has been below 2021 levels. The September figures saw overall traffic drop 3.1%, or 61,678 carloads and intermodal units, compared to September 2021. Carload traffic was down 1.1% while […]

Read More…

Montana Rail Link’s BLET employees ratify contract with BNSF Railway

A blue Montana Rail Link train works alongside a river with mountains in the background.

Montana Rail Link employees represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen have ratified a contract agreement with BNSF Railway, a key step in BNSF taking over operations of the regional railroad. The union announced Tuesday that “an overwhelming majority of participating BLET members ratified an implementing agreement and Oregon Short Line Protective Agreement […]

Read More…

Chicago-area opponents ask regulators to delay decision on CP-KCS merger

Freight train with black locomotive passes commuter rail station

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — Illinois politicians and members of the suburban group opposed to the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger are calling on the Surface Transportation Board to delay its decision on the merger until it can conduct a separate study on the impact in the Chicago area. In a Tuesday press conference, U.S. Sen. Dick […]

Read More…

Seminole Gulf Railway faces lengthy closure after hurricane

Map of railroad in southwest Florida

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Florida’s Seminole Gulf Railway could be shut down for up to six months because of damage suffered from Hurricane Ian, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reports. Executive Vice President Robert Fay told the Business Journal the railroad had lost six bridges as a result of the storm, including three totaling 1,300 linear […]

Read More…

Registration opens for WRI ’23

Logo of WRI 2023

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Registration has opened for WRI 2023, the 28th annual Wheel Rail Interaction Conference, to be held June 6-9, 2023, at the Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, The Depot. Trains Magazine is a presenting sponsor for the event. The conference consists of three events: a one-day Rail Transit seminar on June 6, a one-day Principles […]

Read More…

Train dispatchers ratify Class I railroad contract agreement

WASHINGTON — Train dispatchers today became the fourth union to ratify their contract agreement with the Class I railroads. The American Train Dispatchers Association, which represents 1,500 dispatchers, voted in favor of the deal by a 64%-36% margin, the union said in a statement. The agreement follows the recommendations of the Presidential Emergency Board, which […]

Read More…

CP and KCS to make their case for merger in final day of STB hearings

Red, yellow, and black locomotive at grade crossing

WASHINGTON – Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern will make their closing arguments for their merger on Thursday, the sixth and final day of Surface Transportation Board hearings on the first Class I railroad combination in two decades. CP and KCS also will rebut criticism and comments from other railroads, state and local officials, and […]

Read More…