WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has granted Land Rush Rail Corp., part of Farmrail, permission to lease and operate 37.26 miles of track in Oklahoma and Kansas previously operated by the Blackwell Northern Gateway Railroad. The route, from Wellington, Kan., to Blackwell, Okla, is owned by the Blackwell Industrial Authority and the Oklahoma Department […]
CHICAGO — Michael Naatz has been named as chief operating officer at Anacostia Rail Holdings, the company has announced. Naatz most recently was executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Kansas City Southern, after previously serving as senior vice president, operations support, and chief information officer, leading intermodal operations, mechanical, service design, and information […]
CHICAGO — Longtime rail executive Jerry Peck is the new president and general manager at the Belt Railway of Chicago. Peck, who started railroading in 1973 in train service with the Illinois Central, worked for two decades at Canadian National, ascending to general manager before taking the same position with Canadian Pacific in the U.S. […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has turned down a request to reconsider its approval of construction of Utah’s Savage Tooele Railroad. In a decision issued today (March 3, 2025), the board’s four members agreed that those who had petitioned for reconsideration — the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, Erda Community Association, and two […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway and Iowa Northern Railway have officially joined their operations, CN said today (Monday, March 3). “This additional investment in the United States underscores our dedication to delivering outstanding rail service while driving economic growth,” CN CEO Tracy Robinson said in a press release. “CN customers and partners along this network […]
MONTREAL — Quebec’s Court of Appeals has upheld a lower-court ruling that found Canadian Pacific Railway was not legally responsible for the 2013 Lac-Mégantic disaster. The Canadian Press reports that in a ruling today (Feb. 26, 2025), a three-judge court panel denied three appeals that sought to require CPR to pay into a compensation fund […]
MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — Short line company Anacostia Rail Holdings has become the newest member of RailPulse, the consortium working to bring telematics to the North American freight car fleet. The Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad will be the first of Anacostia’s six railroads to introduce the technology, adding telematic units supported by […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Shortline operator Patriot Rail is going to the debt markets for refinancing, prompting all three ratings agencies to weigh in on its issue. Three ratings on the same issue and company at the same issue is unusual. Companies often are satisfied with one or maybe two. But all three were published this […]
WASHINGTON — Surface Transportation Board Chairman Patrick Fuchs — who has indicated a desire to have the board address matters more quickly, as well as be more transparent — today (Feb. 21, 2025) offered updates on six long-running proceedings, one of which dates to 2009. The matters in question are: — An abandonment request from […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific will lease 1.25 miles of trackage in Kansas City, Mo., to a new Jaguar Transport short line next month. The Kansas City West Bottoms Railroad will serve a cluster of customers located off UP’s KC Metro Big Mary Subdivision between milepost 0.63 and milepost 1.60 in Kansas City, according to a […]
PORT CLINTON, Pa. — The Reading & Northern Railroad has announced its 2025 schedule for excursions to Pottsville, Pa., with one such trip a month planned, beginning in May. The Pottsville trips, from Reading Outer Station, feature the Pottsville Outdoor Market, featuring fresh produce, specialty food and beverages, and local arts and crafts; the Yuengling […]
NEWARK, N.J. — Beginning Wednesday, Feb. 19, NJ Transit will begin a combination of limited train service and bus substitution to replace operations on its Raritan Valley Line, the transit agency has announced. Service was blocked earlier today (Feb. 18) because of the derailment of a Norfolk Southern intermodal train on a section of Conrail […]
