Colorado governor proposes free transit to address pollution issues

Denver_RTD_Cuts_Lassen

DENVER — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is proposing funding for free rail and bus transit during the state’s ozone pollution season as part of his 2022-23 budget request. Colorado Public Radio reports the $28 million proposal is part of $424 million in air-quality projects in the budget request, which also includes $150 million for electric […]

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STB allows Minnesota shipper’s complaint against Union Pacific to proceed

Surface Transportation Board logo

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board will allow a Minnesota company to proceed with its complaint against Union Pacific that alleges service reductions by the railroad violate UP’s common carrier obligation and constitute unreasonable practices. In a decision issued Tuesday, the board granted a request by Sanimax USA to partially revoke commodity exemptions and allow […]

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O’Hare peoplemover system set to resume operation

Blue peoplemover train with white ORD lettering

CHICAGO — A long-delayed peoplemover rail system at O’Hare Airport is set to begin operation today (Nov. 3, 2021), almost three years late and four years after a predecessor system shut down. The Chicago Sun-Times reports the new system will be able to carry 4,800 riders per hour, almost twice the number of the previous […]

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STB issues proposed schedule for CP-KCS merger proceeding

Surface Transportation Board logo

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has laid out a 245-day schedule for submission of evidence and arguments on the merger application for Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern under a proposal released Tuesday afternoon — envisioning a longer process than the railroads had hoped for. The 245-day plan would proceed from last Friday, Oct. […]

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CP and KCS project dramatic rise in daily train counts

Map of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern systems with details from merger document

WASHINGTON – Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern say their proposed merger will generate significant traffic growth, with daily train counts on the combined system’s north-south spine projected to more than double within three years. The traffic details were among those included in the railways’ 4,342-page, 1-gigabyte merger application filed with U.S. regulators late Friday. […]

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Dad was a closet railfan

Black-and-white photo of front end of steam locomotive emerging from enginehouse doorway

My father was a closet railfan. He didn’t hang around the tracks or take pictures of trains. On the other hand, he was always more than happy to take us kids to almost any railroad yard or station if we asked. And he never told us to stay away from the tracks, perhaps swayed by […]

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Milwaukee Road history

Color three-quarter-angle photo of streamlined steam locomotive with passenger train

Milwaukee Road history Milwaukee Road history begins with the Milwaukee & Waukesha Rail Road, which was chartered in 1847. Even before it laid its first rails in 1850, its name was changed to the Milwaukee & Mississippi. In 1851 it reached Waukesha, Wis., 20 miles west of Milwaukee. Its rails reached Madison in 1854 and […]

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CN letter to shareholders attacks activist investor, questions focus on operating ratio

Canadian National logo

MONTREAL — Canadian National has issued a seven-page document regarding the proxy fight led by activist investor TCI Fund Management in which it says TCI’s “motives are highly suspect and its approach to railroading is outdated, myopic, and destructive to longer-term value.” The “Letter to Stockholders” issued Tuesday morning by the CN board of directors […]

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Latest blockade of KCS de Mexico route ends

Kansas City Southern de Mexico logo

CALTZONTZIN, Mexico — The latest blockade of Kansas City Southern de Mexico tracks by a Mexican teachers’ union has ended after 91 days, Mexico Daily News reports. National Guard troops cleared the tracks in the state of Michoacán on Sunday afternoon, and KCSM trains were expected to begin running the same day. An industry association […]

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After 12 years, Metra holds station groundbreaking (updated)

Illustration of new commuter station

CHICAGO – More than a dozen city, state, local, and Metra officials took turns speaking to the media Monday, then posed for the obligatory shovel photo on the site where the $22 million Peterson-Ridge commuter rail station in the Edgewater neighborhood on Chicago’s north side will be built during the next 18 months. Metra first […]

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