ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern’s embrace of Precision Scheduled Railroading will put the railroad’s operational house in order and improve financial results, including a 60-percent operating ratio by 2021. “We decided to adopt Precision Scheduled Railroading because it works,” Norfolk Southern CEO Jim Squires said in kicking off the railroad’s investor day presentations on Monday. NS […]
Magazine: Trains Magazine
NS plans to cull 500 locomotives NEWSWIRE
A slide from a Norfolk Southern presentation on locomotive reductions. Norfolk Southern ATLANTA — The ongoing modernization of Norfolk Southern’s locomotive fleet will be a key element of the financial and operational gains the railroad is seeking with its shift to Precision Scheduled Railroading. Norfolk Southern’s new TOP21 operating plan will reduce the size of […]
Progress on Reading Co. 2100 boiler work NEWSWIRE
With side sheets welded in place, Reading Co. 2100 is ready for staybolt work. American Steam Railroad CLEVELAND, Ohio — Boiler and firebox work are just about completed on Reading No. 2100, the famed 4-8-4 leased by American Steam Railroad. The new firebox side sheets, welded in place and drilled and reamed, await new staybolts, […]
TV station: UP derailment near Las Vegas dumps about 30 freight cars NEWSWIRE
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Union Pacific has about 30 freight cars to clean up and account for after a Saturday derailment northeast of Las Vegas temporarily closed the line to Salt Lake City. Las Vegas television station KSNV reports that the train derailed early in the morning, Saturday, Feb. 9. The station reported that the […]
Twin Cities light rail lines see ridership increase as demographics change NEWSWIRE
Metro Transit light rail in downtown Minneapolis. Steve Glischinski MINNEAPOLIS – The Twin Cities two light rail lines set ridership records in 2018, Twin Cities Metro Transit announced Monday. The Green Line, which connects downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota, saw 13.8 million rides, a 5 percent increase from the […]
Veterans of Harrison-era Illinois Central and Canadian National leading PSR charge NEWSWIRE
Late CSX Transportation CEO E. Hunter Harrison speaks before the Surface Transportation Board in 2017. R.G. Edmonson The spread of E. Hunter Harrison’s Precision Scheduled Railroading operating model across the industry may be driven by investors and Wall Street. But it is being implemented by a cadre of Harrison disciples from his days at Illinois […]
Winston-Salem’s union station renovation almost complete NEWSWIRE
From a station to an auto repair garage and now to a historic preservation project, Winston-Salem Union Station is back to its 1926 appearance. Kevin Gilliam WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A 28-month, $11 million restoration of Winston-Salem’s 1926 union station is nearing completion, an amazing feat for a structure that had been an automobile repair shop […]
Amtrak CEO testimony presses need for Corridor infrastructure funding NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON — Amtrak President Richard Anderson took repeated opportunities Thursday to highlight how a failure of aging Northeast Corridor infrastructure near New York “would effectively shut down economic activity in Manhattan” and “cut off (rail travel) from Maine to North Carolina and down to Florida.” But testimony from other panel witnesses and questioning from members […]
FRA announces $56 million in rail improvement grants NEWSWIRE
A Brightline train streaks through Delray Beach, Fla. FRA grants announced Friday include more than $2 million for grade-crossing improvements on Brightline’s route. TRAINS: David Lassen WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has announced more than $56 million in grants, covering 18 projects in 16 states, to improve rail safety, efficiency, and reliability through the […]
Grand Canyon Railway to steam in 2019 NEWSWIRE
WILLIAMS, Ariz. — Grand Canyon Railway on the former Santa Fe branch between Williams, Ariz., and South Rim, will see steam again in 2019. Former Burlington Route 2-8-2 No. 4960 will operate Feb. 16 on President’s Day, and also on the first Saturday of each month starting March 2 and going through Oct. 5. A […]
LA Metro seeks ways to deal with declining ridership NEWSWIRE
Passengers board an LA Metro light rail train at Union Station in January 2017. Metro, like many public transit systems, is dealing with declining ridership. TRAINS: David Lassen LOS ANGELES — From Crenshaw to Century City to Little Tokyo, workers are digging tunnels, laying track, and building stations in a massive expansion of LA Metro’s […]
Mayors urge funding to restore Vancouver Island rail service NEWSWIRE
The Mahalat, VIA Rail Canada’s service on Vancouver Island, arrives at Parksville, British Columbia, in 2006. Passenger service on the island ended in 2011, but area mayors are urging that the province fund a restoration of service. Bob Johnston VICTORIA, British Columbia — A group of 13 area mayors have appealed to British Columbia’s premier, […]