FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway’s decision to meter a broad range of carload traffic bound for California beginning next week is aimed at preventing congestion from worsening on the busy Southern Transcon during the Fourth of July holiday period when many crews mark off. The west end of the Southern Transcon, which carries 80 […]
The electric railways of North America served a variety of purposes: carrying commuters, industrial switching, and mainline freight and passenger service. From coal-hauling, six-axle, red-white-and-blue motors in British Columbia to plain green electric M.U. cars in New Jersey, there can be broad interest in electric railroads. Noted railfan Matthew Herson has lent his photographic collection […]
MONTREAL – Canadian National has added a second pair of intermodal trains linking the Port of Halifax, Nova Scotia, with points in Eastern Canada and the U.S. Midwest. The railway launched trains Q122 and Q123 this month, joining existing trains Q120 and Q121 that serve Atlantic Canada’s busiest containerport. “Working with our partner PSA, this […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway will limit carload traffic bound for California through the end of July as it struggles to overcome congestion related to crew shortages and bad weather along portions of its Southern Transcon. The railroad made the permit embargo announcement in a Thursday advisory to customers. It will take effect on […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has once again split the positions of chief executive officer and president, with CEO Stephen Gardner announcing the appointment of Roger Harris as president and the promotion of Gerhard (Gery) Williams to executive vice president, service delivery and operations. Gardner had become president and CEO in January following the announced retirement of […]
WASHINGTON — Three of the Federal Maritime Commission’s five members have urged the Surface Transportation Board to reject the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, saying the deal would hurt U.S. ports. Canadian ports — particularly Vancouver and Prince Rupert in British Columbia — have been gaining market share for containerized traffic that’s ultimately bound […]
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen will hold a strike authorization vote, the organization’s president announced in a Wednesday conference call with other union officials. Even if members authorize a strike, a walkout is not likely to occur soon. Unions and railroads entered a 30-day cooling-off period on June 17, after […]
CHICAGO — CSX Transportation has begun work on expansion of its Chicago intermodal facilities, breaking ground earlier this week on a container storage facility at 63rd Street in the city’s Englewood neighborhood. When completed, the project, projected to cost more than $25 million, will provide additional storage for the railroad’s 59th Street and Bedford Park […]
Fifty Years of Amtrak Trains is a beautifully crafted 256-page, all-color hardbound volume. It is a time capsule of relevant information on the first 50 years of Amtrak’s existence, including a comprehensive survey of Amtrak routes between 1971 and 2021. The volume accounts for all Amtrak routes and trains (the book is divided into state […]
WASHINGTON — A major grain shipper opposes Canadian National’s effort to force Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern to divest the KCS line linking Springfield, Ill., and Kansas City. Earlier this year CN asked the Surface Transportation Board to condition approval of the CP-KCS merger on divestiture of KCS’s Springfield Line. CN promises to spend […]
The U.S. Class I railroads’ recurring crew shortages, related bouts of service problems, and a lack of meaningful volume growth are intertwined. You can lay the blame for all three problems at just one place: Wall Street. BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific are in the midst of the mother of all […]
MONTREAL — Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have gone on strike against Canadian National Railway in Canada. The 750 signal and communications workers walked out as of 11 a.m. local time on Saturday, a union official confirmed to the CBC. The union had previously given the railroad a 72-hour notification of its […]
