BALTIMORE – If you buy a Florida-grown watermelon in the New York City area, there’s a good chance that it rode a CSX Transportation intermodal train from the Sunshine State to the Northeast. CSX has become the largest hauler of Florida watermelons to the Northeast thanks to a year-old experiment dubbed CSX Greenway, a premium […]
WASHINGTON – The trade group representing ethanol producers has told federal regulators that its members are experiencing significant rail service delays and disruptions that could lead to higher gasoline prices. “While we certainly understand that a variety of factors have contributed to these rail disruptions, it is imperative that all possible actions be taken by […]
BALTIMORE — Autonomous trucks are beginning to roam highways with the blessing of the Department of Transportation, yet the Federal Railroad Administration wants to mandate two-person train crews. Why is the regulatory playing field different for trucks and trains, FRA Administrator Amit Bose was asked at a shippers’ conference on Thursday. “We think having a […]
BALTIMORE – CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern are working to improve their service amid ongoing crew shortages and supply chain disruptions, executives told shippers on Thursday. “We’re aware that it’s been a tough two years. Clearly we haven’t shown our best self,” Farrukh Bezar, CSX’s senior vice president and chief strategy officer, told the North […]
WASHINGTON – Federal regulators have ordered officials from BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific to appear a two-day hearing this month regarding ongoing rail service problems. The Surface Transportation Board announced on Thursday that it will hold the public hearings on April 26 and 27. The announcement comes in the wake of […]
PITTSBURGH — Veteran railroader William J. (Bill) Duggan, has retired from his position as vice president of operations at Railroad Development Corp. Duggan’s career began as a motor car repairman’s helper at Illinois Central and was interrupted only by two tours of duty in Vietnam; he also worked at Iowa Interstate before joining RDC, where […]
WASHINGTON — Norfolk Southern’s view of the impact of potential Amtrak service was a focal point of Wednesday’s third day of hearings on the passenger carrier’s effort to launch two daily round trips between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. Testifying in the Surface Transportation Board’s online hearing, Randall Hunt, the railroad’s senior director of interline […]
WASHINGTON — The slow pace of the Surface Transportation Board hearing on Amtrak Gulf Coast service continued Tuesday, the proceeding’s second day, when just one additional witness testified and was questioned. But the appearance of that witness, CSX Senior Vice President of Mechanical and Engineering Ricky Johnson, provided significant insight into how CSX operates on […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has promoted Floyd Hudson, general manager of the Southern Region, to vice president of transportation. “Floyd has been a leader in our work to implement Precision Scheduled Railroading and achieve continuous improvement in our operating ratio. He has played a central role in the flawless execution of our PSR-based TOP21 operating […]
WASHINGTON — Monday’s first day of a Surface Transportation Board hearing on Amtrak’s request to initiate service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., moved so slowly that some attorneys speculated that the four days this week allotted for the hearing may not be enough. In almost eight hours, the hearing barely progressed past opening statements […]
ARLINGTON, Va. — A federal court has shot down a union’s effort to negotiate wages, health care, and other key issues at a local, rather than national, level, according to the organization representing railroads in national labor bargaining. The National Railway Labor Conference said in a press release that the U.S. District Court for the […]
WASHINGTON — Ongoing service problems related to crew shortages on the U.S. Class I railroads are entirely self-inflicted due to the implementation of Precision Scheduled Railroading, the SMART Transportation Division labor union has told federal regulators. “The freight rail network is at a breaking point,” union President Jeremy Ferguson wrote in an April 1 letter […]
