NEW YORK — Metro-North Railroad will launch “super express” trains next month between Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Grand Central Terminal. The trains will cut travel time to less than 90 minutes each way, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said today. The first “super-express” trains will run on Monday, Oct. 6. “Delivering better, faster Metro-North service to Hudson […]
CHICAGO — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has reached a tentative agreement with Metra that would provide 93 BLET members with 3.5% general wage increases, the union said today. The agreement covers BLET members employed by Metra who operate on the Metra-UP Lines and are represented by the Union Pacific Northern Region General […]
WASHINGTON — Surface Transportation Board Chairman Patrick Fuchs provided an update today on recent actions to facilitate and expedite the resolution of several outstanding board proceedings. They include: Lake Providence Port Commission—Feeder Line Application—Line of Delta Southern Railroad Located in East Carroll & Madison Parishes, La. (FD 36447). This longstanding proceeding involves efforts by LPPC, […]
BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom — The CMA CGM Group, a global player in sea, land, air, and logistics solutions, today announced the acquisition of Freightliner UK Intermodal Logistics. The transaction encompasses rail and road operations, inland terminals, as well as the Freightliner brand. CMA CGM said the acquisition underscores its ambition to build a sustainable and […]
PITTSBURGH — Wabtec today announced its largest-ever locomotive agreement, a $4.2 billion deal to deliver Evolution Series locomotives and provide long-term service support to the national railway of Kazakhstan. The new locomotives, part of National Company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy’s (KTZ) expansion and fleet renewal, are designed to operate in the demanding weather conditions and mountainous […]
CSX’s rebuilt Blue Ridge Subdivision — the former Clinchfield Railroad in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina which was heavily damaged by flooding after Hurricane Helene last fall — hosted its first revenue freight train over the weekend. With Clinchfield heritage locomotive No. 1902 on the point, train U248-20 traversed the line on Saturday. CSX […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration today issued a $5 billion-plus Notice of Funding Opportunity for the National Railroad Partnership Program, which aims to enhance safety on intercity passenger routes. The program now includes $2.4 billion that the FRA clawed back from the California High-Speed Rail Project. “The funding will help advance FRA’s top priority […]
The SMART-TD union today said it would back Union Pacific’s acquisition of Norfolk Southern under an agreement that ensures job security for rank and file members who work in train and yardmaster service. Union Pacific said SMART-TD employees would not face involuntary furloughs as a result of the merger and would have job protection for […]
WASHINGTON — Robert Gleason, the White House nominee to serve on Amtrak’s board of directors, was among the nominees the U.S. Senate confirmed en masse last week. The Senate approved 48 Trump administration nominees under a simple majority vote on Thursday. Republicans adopted the process last week to speed the confirmation of nominees amid Democratic […]
Trains Turntable: Commentary from Matthew K. Rose Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern railroads have proposed a merger — what could possibly be wrong with a transcontinental railroad? First, there exists no financial crisis in the rail industry, like that which drove the significant consolidation in the freight rail industry over the last 30 years. The […]
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday said he approved of the proposed $85 billion merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern. In Oval Office remarks reported by White House media, Trump said the tie-up that would create the first transcontinental freight railroad “sounds good to me. Union Pacific is a great railroad.” Trump also […]
Canadian Pacific Kansas City CEO Keith Creel and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met at a grain terminal in Mexico City today to celebrate the arrival of a unit train carrying wheat grown in Manitoba. Amid ongoing trade tensions between the U.S. and its North American neighbors, CPKC has been seeking to connect customers in […]
