STB orders BNSF to haul more coal for Powder River Basin company

orange locomotive and train comes around curve in Wyoming

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators today ordered BNSF Railway to haul more coal from Navajo Transitional Energy Co.’s Spring Creek mine in Montana to tidewater in British Columbia. The Surface Transportation Board’s 3-2 decision, which stemmed from a common-carrier complaint and emergency service order request from the coal producer, requires BNSF to transport 4.2 million tons […]

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Union Pacific to serve new Arizona industrial park

Map showing location of industrial park near Phoenix

BUCKEYE, Ariz. — Union Pacific will provide rail service to the new Buckeye Industrial Rail Park, which recently saw its first tenant, Rehrig Pacific Co., break ground on its manufacturing plant. The 260-acre industrial park is located 40 miles west of Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport and near Interstate 10. Rehrig Pacific’s plant will manufacture reusuable […]

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Village destroyed by wildfire sues CN, CPKC, Transport Canada

View of railroad track from locomotive

LYTTON, British Columbia — The village of Lytton and its local regional district have filed suit against Canadian National, CPKC, and Transport Canada over a 2021 fire that destroyed the village, accusing the railroads and the government agency of negligence. The CBC reports the suit was filed by Lytton and the Thompson-Nicola Regional District in […]

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Weather a factor as UP train derails in North Texas

Union Pacific logo without slogan. UP Bailey Yard explosion appear to be accidental.

POWELL, Texas — Severe weather is believed to have played a part in the derailment of a Union Pacific train Wednesday evening in Powell, WFAA-TV reports. About 26 cars of an intermodal train derailed during a period that the Navarro County Office of Emergency Management says included storms with winds up to 80 mph. No […]

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Rail accidents increased in Canada in 2022, TSB reports

Pie chart breaking down Canadian rail accidents in 2022 into seven categories

GATINEAU, Quebec — Rail accidents and other incidents in Canada increased in 2022 from 2021, but remain below the level of the 10-year average, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in its annual review of transportation statistics released on Wednesday. The review of events reported to the TSB across all modes of transportation also […]

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Minor leaguer’s home run hits passing train

Image of ballpark outfield with autoracks passing by.

WORCESTER, Mass. — When Trains Magazine wrote about baseball parks near railroad tracks (“High iron baseball,” June 2023), one of the qualifications for the article was the ability to see trains pass from within the ballpark. Worcester’s Polar Park didn’t make the magazine — although it’s in this Trains.com article — but it’s clear it […]

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U.S. weekly rail traffic shows more moderate decline

Intermodal train on triple-track railroad

WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic for the week ending June 17 was one of the mildest weekly declines this year, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. Overall traffic was 477,126 carloads and intermodal units, down just 3% from the same week in 2022. That included 228,724 carloads, up 1.2%, and 248,402 containers […]

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