The Panama Canal Railway, which saw a 20% increase in container traffic last summer due to drought conditions affecting water levels in the Panama Canal, got another boost this week. Maersk, the largest container shipping line, announced yesterday that shipments bound to and from Australia and New Zealand are being diverted to the Panama Canal […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway completed a record year for employee safety in 2023 by posting the lowest injury frequency rate in the company’s history. BNSF’s 37,000 employees operated its 32,500-mile network without loss of life, and with the fewest number of employee injuries ever, the railway said today. Employee injury rates decreased more […]
BEAUFORT, S.C. — OptiFuel Systems will begin testing a prototype 5,600-hp zero-emissions renewable natural gas road locomotive and a companion 2,500-hp fuel tender next January at the Federal Railroad Administration’s Transportation Technology Center, the company announced today. After testing the prototype Total-Zero Renewable Natural Gas Line Haul Locomotive for 12 months, OptiFuel aims to launch […]
WASHINGTON — A coalition of labor unions representing railroad shop workers has asked the Federal Railroad Administration and Surface Transportation Board to take five steps to improve safety and service on the Class I railroads. In an 81-page letter posted on the STB website this week, the unions say the implementation of the low-cost Precision […]
LOMBARD, Ill. — Notes from Day 1 of the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers Winter Meeting: Border battle Union Pacific found itself involved in headlines not of its own making in December when U.S. Customs and Border Protection shut down border rail gateways at Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, quickly throwing U.S-Mexico rail traffic […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has elected not to hear Ohio’s appeal of a decision overturning a state law regulating blocked railroad grade crossings, WFIN radio reports, leaving stand precedent that local regulation is preempted by federal regulation of interstate commerce. Ohio’s Supreme Court had struck down the law, which prohibited railroads from blocking […]
Positive Train Control With Positive Train Control (PTC) fully implemented on a large majority of the nation’s Class Is, passenger, and commuter lines, many short lines and regional railroads have had to comply with the new rules when they operate over another’s PTC-equipped lines. This includes smaller railroads that serve customers on another railroad’s tracks, […]
CHICAGO — Amtrak has announced a significant number of cancellations beginning Thursday, Jan. 11, for long-distance and state-supported trains serving Chicago in anticipation of a major winter storm expected to hit the Midwest Friday and Saturday. The majority of cancellations are Friday and Saturday. Also affected are St. Louis-Kansas City trains and, on the West […]
BROOKLYN — The New York City subway system has experienced its second derailment in a week, as a Manhattan-bound train derailed on an elevated portion of the F line in Coney Island this afternoon (Wednesday, Jan. 10). The incident occurred about 12:25 p.m. between stations near Neptune Avenue and West 6th Street. The Fire Department […]
LOMBARD, Ill. — The theme may not be new, but the emphasis seems to be increasing. The idea that railroads need to work together — and that doing so can be beneficial to all parties, not just the railroads involved, but their customers as well — was a recurring topic during the first day of […]
WASHINGTON – U.S. weekly rail traffic was up 2.3% compared with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads reported today. For the week ending Jan. 6, U.S. railroads originated 208,176 carloads, up 0.9% compared with the same week in 2023, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 209,081 containers and trailers, up 3.7% […]
WASHINGTON — A conductor entered the “red zone” where there was an increased likelihood of being struck by equipment, and an engineer did not follow operating procedures to stop his train after failing to hear instructions from the conductor, the National Transportation Safety Board said in determining the probable cause of the fatal Oct. 28, […]
