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WASHINGTON — Norfolk Southern’s proposed abandonment of the Saluda Grade in North and South Carolina will not need to undergo an environmental impact statement process, the Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Environmental Assessment has determined in a decision released today (Monday, Nov. 25). The railroad filed for abandonment of 31.3 miles of the long-dormant route […]
MONTREAL — Members of Canadian labor union Unifor have voted to authorize a strike against Canadian National Railway if a new contract agreement is not reached by Jan. 1, 2025. Unifor said in a press release that members of the two groups representing CN workers — Council 4000 and Local 100 — had voted 97% […]
NEW YORK — If current Class I railroad volume growth efforts don’t bear fruit, railroads will either have to turn to transcontinental mergers or try to shrink themselves to prosperity. That’s the conclusion Oliver Wyman consultant Adriene Bailey has reached after examining trends of declining traffic and anemic revenue growth as railroads continue to lose […]
ARLINGTON, Va. — The bargaining organization for U.S. Class I railroads has announced a fourth tentative national labor agreement, this time with the National Conference of Firemen & Oilers. The National Carriers Conference Committee announced the deal today (Monday, Nov. 25). It joins earlier deals with the Transportation Communications Union, Brotherhood of Railway Carmen, and […]
WASHINGTON — The increases weren’t large compared to pre-pandemic 2019, but more Northeast Regional frequencies enabled Amtrak to capture enough travel demand to beat the company’s previous overall record ridership in fiscal 2024. Also, a 24% gain in ticket revenue from long-distance trains compared to 2019, in spite of constricted coach and sleeping car capacity, […]
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority board has voted to purchase 39 more bilevel commuter railcars from Hyundai Rotem, bringing to 163 the total number in service or on order. State House News Service reports the board voted Thursday, Nov. 21, to exercise a $165 million option for the additional cars. The MBTA originally […]
ERWIN, Tenn. — The building excitement was palpable. With the first sound of the chime air horn on CSX’s newest heritage unit, Clinchfield No. 1902, children were screaming in anticipation of the arrival of a special appearance of CSX’s Holiday Express train in Erwin on Thursday night, Nov. 21. Preceding the 82nd running of the […]
KANONA, N.Y. — Alstom and Norfolk Southern are collaborating on a project that converts two locomotives from traditional diesel engines into battery-powered hybrid locomotives that rely on a smaller Tier 4 diesel engine for battery charging. The project is made possible by a $15.9 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and […]
If you look closely at a diesel locomotive, you’ll see the letter “F” stenciled near the stairs. As obvious as it seems, the “F” stands for Front, and it’s required under the Railroad Locomotive Safety Standards section of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Title 49 CFR Part 229.11 reads, “The letter “F” shall be […]
PIERRE, S.D. — The South Dakota Railroad Board will provide $12.6 million for upgrades to rail service at the state’s largest soybeen processing plant. The South Dakota Searchlight reports that the funds, in the form of a loan to the Davison Regional Rail Authority, will be used to build 6.2 miles of rail line, 22 […]
WASHINGTON — An incorrectly lined switch — the result of an error by a crew member of a train not involved in the incident — led to a collision between two trains at Union Pacific’s yard in Chico, Texas, on April 16, 2023, the National Transportation Safety Board said in an investigation report released today […]
NEW YORK – Here are notes, quotes, and quips from the annual RailTrends conference, held Nov. 14-15. CPKC plans to build more hydrogen fuel cell locomotives Canadian Pacific Kansas City CEO Keith Creel says the railway’s handful of hydrogen fuel cell locomotives are proving themselves in revenue service every day. There are a lot more […]
