Canadian National orders 75 locomotives to handle traffic growth

Red and black locomotives leading train under bridge

MONTREAL — Canadian National has ordered 75 locomotives for delivery this year and next in order to handle projected traffic growth. CN, which made the announcement on Monday during its quarterly earnings call, is the only Class I railroad to place a locomotive order this year. The railway’s board approved the order before CN made its […]

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CN raises outlook for year as economy recovers, volume remains strong

CN logo

MONTREAL — Canadian National has raised its financial outlook for the year amid record first-quarter intermodal and Canadian grain volumes, and expectations for continued economic improvement that will boost merchandise traffic. CN now expects volume to grow in the high single-digit percentage range this year, up from around 5% forecast in January, executives said while […]

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Former RailAmerica executive Jack Conser, 77, dies

Informal head and torso photo of man

Jack Franklin Conser of Boynton Beach, Fla, a retired senior vice president of RailAmerica, died at age 77 on April 10, 2021. Conser worked in the railroad industry for 42 years, beginning as a clerk for the Reading Co. in Williamsport, Pa., in 1961. From his hometown he went on to hold railroad positions in […]

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Digest: DC Metro extends hours for sporting events

WMATA logo

DC Metro to extend service for those attending sporting events Beginning Tuesday, April 27, DC Metro will extend its service hours up to 30 minutes beyond normal closing time to serve passengers attending sporting events involving the area’s six professional sports teams, if the games run longer than expected. The “flex” schedule will waive fees […]

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Extra 6311 East

Freight trains pass on mountainside

Extra 6311 East A westbound freight, led by an F7 quartet, coils past Extra 6311 East near Alta, Calif., in October 1957. The eastbound’s helpers are just visible up ahead. Photo by Philip R. Hastings […]

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CN envisions finalizing KCS merger deal within 30 to 40 days

Canadian National and Kansas City Southern logos

MONTREAL — Canadian National could finalize a merger deal with Kansas City Southern in the next 30 to 40 days, executives said today. With the KCS board agreeing over the weekend to consider CN’s unsolicited $33.7 billion merger offer, CN tomorrow will begin poring over confidential KCS data and negotiating a final merger agreement. Rival […]

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News photos: Amtrak ‘Midnight Blue’ unit debuts

Dark blue locomotive

Tucked in behind P42 No 138 leading the westbound Cardinal, Amtrak P42 No 100 rolled into Chicago on Monday, fresh from repainting into the one-of-a-kind “Midnight Blue” color scheme [see “Behind Amtrak’s new locomotive designs,” Trains News Wire, March 18]. The two locomotives, baggage car, Superliner sleeping car, coach, and coach-baggage, fresh from refurbishing at […]

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CP says broad CN overlap with KCS system poses regulatory hurdle

Map of central U.S. highlighting areas where Canadian Pacific says Kansas City Southern and Canadian National routes overlap

CALGARY, Alberta — A combined Canadian National and Kansas City Southern system would reduce railroad competition across wide swath of its expanded service territory, which would pose a regulatory challenge to a potential merger, Canadian Pacific CEO Keith Creel says. “The competition between KCS and CN is not limited to a ‘handful’ of shippers as CN […]

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News photo: Exo donates gallery coach to Exporail

Locomotive pulling two commuter coaches

Exo, the Montreal-area commuter railroad, has donated a gallery coach, to Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum in Saint-Constant, Quebec, on Montreal’s south shore. AMT No. 900 — the abbreviation refers to Exo predecessor Agence métropolitaine de transport — was moved to the museum on Friday from Exo’s Pointe St-Charles maintenance facility. The transit agency had […]

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Meeting Santa Fe M-190 face to face

Motor passenger train at station

Santa Fe No. M-190 was possibly the most unusual gas-electric car ever manufactured. Measuring 90 feet long, it consisted of two articulated sections riding on three trucks. An Electro-Motive power plant and the operating cab were in the front section, and the rear portion was for baggage. When delivered in June 1932, M-190 had a […]

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Digest: Maryland county plans to take CSX bridge issue to STB

CSX logo

Allagany County, Md., plans to ask STB to intervene in bridge dispute with CSX The Allagany County, Md., Board of Commissioners will file a complaint against CSX Transportation with the Surface Transportation Board over a bridge closure in Cumberland, Md., saying the railroad has blocked any effort to address the issue, although the railroad says […]

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