Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway 4-8-4 No. 576 moves through the streets of Nashville in January 2019. The locomotive is set to be on public display at Nashville Union Station in March. TRAINS: Jim Wrinn NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A long-dormant steam locomotive is set to return to its old stomping grounds in Tennessee next […]
Magazine: Trains Magazine
AAR: Petroleum and lumber are lone stand-outs in a sea of declining carload traffic NEWSWIRE
Association of American Railroads Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Feb. 16. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 523,915 carloads and intermodal units, down 3 percent compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week […]
Durango & Silverton suspends operations ahead of major winter storm NEWSWIRE
Class K-28 2-8-2 No. 476 leads a flanger extra, seen above Shalona Lake just south of Rockwood, Colo., in January 2019. Lawrence Gross DURANGO, Colo. – The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is suspending regular passenger operations through Feb. 23 as southwest Colorado braces for yet another major winter storm. The railroad operates passengers […]
For Norfolk Southern, a 180-degree turn on Precision Scheduled Railroading NEWSWIRE
Jim Squires, NS CEO Norfolk Southern NORFOLK, Va. — It would be an understatement to say that Norfolk Southern’s views on Precision Scheduled Railroading have evolved. In November 2015, Jim Squires had been chief executive for barely six months when the wolf — dressed as Canadian Pacific CEO E. Hunter Harrison — came banging on […]
FRA issues national trespass prevention strategy NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON – The Federal Railroad Administration has issued to Congress the first National Strategy to Prevent Trespassing on Railroad Property. The report examines the causal factors that contribute to trespassing incidents on railroad property, and responds to a U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations request. “Almost every trespasser death or injury is preventable and […]
FRA set to cancel $929 million California high speed rail grant, wants billions repaid NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON – Federal Railroad Administration Administrator Ron Batory has sent a letter to the California High Speed Rail Authority announcing that the federal agency intends to terminate its existing grant agreement and “de-obligate” the entire $928.62 million grant that hasn’t been spent. The letter also states that the FRA is “is exploring all available legal […]
KCS sees service as key to growth and shift to Precision Scheduled Railroading NEWSWIRE
Kansas City Southern MIAMI — Kansas City Southern will stay true to its roots amid implementation of Precision Scheduled Railroading, a term that CEO Patrick Ottensmeyer says often raises concerns among employees, customers, and regulators alike. “There’s nothing about the way we’re going to move forward that is inconsistent with our values and culture,” Ottensmeyer […]
UPDATE: Metra board approves locomotive purchase; SD70MACH models to come out of EMD NEWSWIRE
An artist’s rendition of new-to-Metra SD70MACH locomotives. Metra, via Facebook CHICAGO — Metra on Wednesday approved a $71 million contract to purchase 15 remanufactured locomotives from Progress Rail Locomotives with options to buy up to 27 additional locomotives if more funding becomes available. According to a Metra announcement, Progress Rail will take existing EMD SD70MAC freight […]
Mexico teachers’ protests to take toll on Kansas City Southern earnings NEWSWIRE
Patrick Ottensmeyer, Kansas City Southern CEO TRAINS: David Lassen MIAMI — The teachers’ strike and related protests in Mexico — which blocked Kansas City Southern’s key route between Mexico City and the Port of Lazaro Cardenas for nearly a month — will ding the railroad’s earnings per share by 5 cents in the first quarter. […]
Report: Amtrak floats plan to replace long-distance trains with more corridor services NEWSWIRE
The eastbound ‘California Zephyr,’ left, meets a state-funded Capital Corridor train at Sacramento in March 2013. Brian Schmidt WASHINGTON – Amtrak is considering a plan to replace its long-distance train network with new corridors along parts of the same routes, the Wall Street Journal reports. “We are undertaking a major rethinking of the national network […]
BNSF looks to ‘weed’ out marijuana shipments before they start NEWSWIRE
With the legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada — and the expectation that pot will become a $5 billion business by 2020 — the rail industry now has a shipping code for cannabis and related products. Effective Feb. 2, a new Standard Transportation Commodity Code, or STCC, went into effect to govern the shipment of […]
Dick’s Drive-In supporters outraged over proposed Sound Transit maintenance base NEWSWIRE
Kent, Wash. Google Maps KENT, Wash. — Is there a hamburger powerful enough to stop a train? The Puget Sound region’s rail-transit agency and fans of a local hamburger chain may find out. Sound Transit, the regional authority building and operating a light-rail system in Seattle and its suburbs, recently issued a list of six […]