WASHINGTON — For the first time in more than nine months, U.S. weekly rail traffic has dropped below 2023 levels. For the week ending Oct. 5, total U.S. traffic was 486,187 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.5% decline from the same week a year earlier, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. It […]
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Skepticism spread throughout the railroad community after Hurricane Helene’s devastating once-in-a-generation floods wiped out roadbeds, destroyed bridges, and left most of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee unrecognizable. Some in the industry expressed doubt that CSX and Norfolk Southern would invest the dollars needed to repair widespread damages. More than 40 miles […]
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific Kansas City has released the schedule and list of performers for the annual CPKC Holiday Train, which begins its tours through the U.S. and Canada on Nov. 20. The railroad’s holiday train will also continue to include the Holiday Express, originated by Kansas City Southern, which will make a 13-stop […]
TAMPA, Fla. — Locomotives and freight cars are being moved to higher ground and railroad operations are winding down as Hurricane Milton is only a few hours from making landfall between Tampa Bay and Sarasota on Florida’s Gulf Coast. CSX is bracing customers for delays in the Tampa area as Hurricane Milton nears landfall later […]
ELKHART, Ind. — The stage is set for a new partnership between the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, the City of Elkhart, and the National New York Central Railroad Museum, announced in a press conference at the museum campus today (Oct. 9, 2024). The society — owner and operator of Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. […]
DECORAH, Iowa — The Iowa Transportation Commission has approved loans and grants totaling $5.1 million for six rail infrastructure and development projects under the state’s Railroad Revolving Loan and Grant program. The agency says the projects will support creation and retention of 55 jobs within the three years of project completion. Receiving funding as Targeted […]
WASHINGTON — Two members of Congress have introduced legislation to place railroad yardmasters under the same hours-of-service regulations that cover workers such as train crew members and dispatchers. U.S. Reps. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Mike Lawler (R-Pearl River, N.Y.) on Tuesday introduced the Railroad Yardmaster Protection Act, which would limit a yardmaster to […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — The Canadian government is seriously considering making the proposed High-Frequency Rail project linking Toronto and Quebec City a true high-speed line, according to a government official. The CBC reports that Jean-Yves Duclos, public services and procurement minister, said Monday that the models for the high-frequency project, which would build a separate, passenger-only rail […]
NEW YORK — The first new railcars for the Staten Island Railway in more than 50 years entered service on Tuesday, Oct. 8, with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority organizing a “first run” event to note the occasion. The cars entering service Tuesday are among 75 R211S cars specifically for Staten Island, part of a larger […]
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Knoxville Locomotive Works has delivered a Tier 4 switcher to agricultural firm ADM for use at the company’s Corpus Christi facility, a locomotive funded by a state grant to address emissions reduction. “KLW is pleased to deliver the first successfully integrated a Cummins Tier 4 QST 30 Module to power a […]
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Cando Rail & Terminals has named Eric Buettner as the company’s first chief legal officer. Buettner has more than 10 years of experience in corporate and commercial law with a focus on mergers and acquisitions at western Canada law firm MLT Aikins. He has served as Cando’s external counsel since 2018, primarily […]
Railroad lingo What is the railroad’s lingo? Utilized mostly by railroaders, it’s a way of speaking among co-workers that involves using railroad terminology, jargon, slang, or argot. Common lingo can vary from one group of individuals to another. Not born of this world, I’ve struggled to understand some of the language the railroad professionals use […]
