Conrail history starts with Penn Central’s bankruptcy in 1970, a collapse that upset the entire railroad industry. Something had to be done — Penn Central could not simply be liquidated. It operated one-third of the nation’s passenger trains and was the principal freight carrier in the Northeast. Without PC, the industries of the area would […]
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 […]
Delaware Lackawanna and Western locomotives: All through March, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. Please enjoy this photo selection of DL&W locomotives selected from the image archives of Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. Lackawanna steam locomotives were top-notch among Northeast coal-hauling roads. The railroad’s last steam locomotive ran in […]
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 […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – CSX Transportation has hired Steve Fortune, a longtime BP executive, to be its executive vice president and chief digital and technology officer. “We are pleased to announce the appointment of Steve Fortune and welcome him to CSX’s executive leadership team. CSX is focused on growing through innovation and being a leader in […]
WASHINGTON – BNSF Railway is taking several steps to improve its service to grain shippers, including boosting crew and locomotive availability, CEO Katie Farmer wrote in a letter to the National Grain and Feed Association this week. The trade group representing grain shippers complained to the Surface Transportation Board last week regarding deteriorating service from […]
