BNSF train derails near Oklahoma City

BNSF Railway logo

MOORE, Okla. — Twenty-two cars of a BNSF Railway train derailed today (Friday, Aug. 18)  in suburban Oklahoma City, blocking a grade crossing that could remain closed for several days. The derailment kept Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer from reaching its Oklahoma City terminus. The Oklahoman newspaper reports the derailment involving carloads of plastic pellets occurred about […]

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Federal court strikes down approval of Uinta Basin Railway project

Logo of Uinta Basin Railway

WASHINGTON — A federal court has struck down the Surface Transportation Board’s approval of the Uinta Basin Railway project, calling the decision allowing its construction “arbitrary and caprious.” The court also vacated the Environmental Impact Statement and a related document underlying that decision and sent the matter back to the STB. In granting the exemption […]

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Weekly U.S. rail traffic ticks further downward

Weekly table showing U.S. carload rail traffic by commodity type plus overall intermodal totals

WASHINGTON — Carload traffic showed more of a downward tick for the week ending Aug. 12, leading to a larger overall drop than has been the case recently for weekly U.S. rail traffic. The weekly figure of 472,498 carloads and intermodal units represented a 4.2% decrease from the same week in 2022, after several weeks […]

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Gotthard Base Tunnel repairs will extend into 2024

Passenger train exits tunnel and rounds curve

The Gotthard Base Tunnel sustained far more damage than had previous been believed in last week’s derailment, and it will likely be early 2024 before both bores of the world’s longest rail tunnel are back in service, the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) announced today (Aug. 16). The tunnel has been closed since Aug. 10, when […]

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Second utility customer praises BNSF Railway’s coal service

orange locomotive and train comes around curve in Wyoming

WASHINGTON — A Michigan electric utility company has praised the improvement in BNSF Railway’s coal train service this year, as well as the railroad’s “accurate and timely communication” during service problems last year. Consumers Energy Co., based in Jackson, Mich., told the Surface Transportation Board this week that coal train cycle times have improved by […]

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BNSF union-management safety agreement reduces injuries and derailments

FORT WORTH, Texas — A year-old partnership between BNSF Railway and three of its labor unions has dramatically reduced injuries and derailments. The Transportation Safety Agreement between BNSF and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, SMART-TD, and Transportation Communications Union was ratified early in 2022 and mostly covers southern portions of the railway. The […]

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Norfolk Southern derailment reported in southwest Tennessee

Norfolk Southern logo

POCAHONTAS, Tenn. — An estimated 15 cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed Sunday evening in southwest Tennesseee, WBBJ-TV reports, citing information from Hardeman County Sheriff John Doolen. No injuries were reported. The derailment occurred about 7 p.m. in a remote area near the Hardeman and McNairy county lines in the Pocahontas area. A photo […]

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