WASHINGTON — Chicago commuter operator Metra has become the third entity to sue over the Surface Transportation Board’s approval of the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger. In a single-page filing with the board, Metra notified the STB today (Wednesday, May 17) that it had initiated a suit on May 12 in the U.S. Court of […]
Type of Train: Freight
Agriculture secretary urges STB to take steps to improve rail service and competition
WASHINGTON — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has asked the Surface Transportation Board to take several steps to improve rail service. “Unfortunately, while rail service has improved from its worst levels last year, it remains inadequate and unreliable for many agricultural shippers. There is more work to be done,” Vilsack wrote in a May 12 letter […]
Continued growth at Prince Rupert will fuel capacity expansions on CN main line
MONTREAL — Canadian National envisions the day when its main line to the Port of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, will host 50 trains per day. “Our capacity right now on that line is about 25 trains a day,” CN CEO Tracy Robinson told an investor conference on Wednesday. “We’re running a little bit below that […]
Going big: the MTH Premier SD24
The MTH Premier SD24 is a massive model of a historic locomotive more widely used than its initial owners list would indicate. Many units found second and third lives on other railroads after their initial stints. Like all of MTH’s newer offerings this wasn’t in a catalog. Instead, it was announced in 2022 as a […]
Cincinnati Southern board delays decision on election
CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Southern Railway board of trustees will decide in July whether to place the proposed sale of the city-owned railroad on the November ballot, WVXU Radio reports. The city has agreed to sell the railroad, the nation’s only municipally owned interstate rail line, to Norfolk Southern for $1.62 billion. But city voters […]
Gulf & Atlantic completes acquisition of three short lines
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Gulf & Atlantic Railways has completed its acquisition of three railroads in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, expanding the company to five railroads. The company announced today (May 16) that it closed on May 12 on the acquisition of the Camp Chase Railroad; Chesapeake & Indiana Railroad; and Vermilion Valley Railroad. It had […]
New BNSF intermodal service to link Port Houston with Dallas/Fort Worth and Denver
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway will add service from the port of Houston to Alliance, Texas, and Denver next month. “As part of our continued commitment to adjusting to our customers’ and the marketplace’s needs to enable growth and the efficient movement of shipments, BNSF is expanding our network of lane offerings with new […]
Union Pacific to consolidate Global 1 intermodal traffic at expanded, upgraded Global 2 terminal
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific will shift intermodal traffic from its Global 1 terminal in Chicago to the expanded Global 2 terminal in Northlake, Ill., effective June 19, the railroad said in a customer advisory on Monday. UP has invested more than $150 million in the expansion and upgrade of Global 2. Lift capacity has […]
Clean-up under way after 31-car BNSF derailment in Texas
DACUS, Texas — Clean-up is in progress following the weekend derailment of 31 cars of a BNSF Railway train of crushed limestone in the small town of Dacus. No injuries were reported. There is some disagreement between the railroad and local officials over the reporting of the incident. BNSF told KTRK-TV on Monday that it […]
Analysis: Can U.S. railroads bounce back from a dismal decade?
Well, this isn’t a pretty picture. From 2013 to 2022 U.S. industrial production eked out 3% growth, overall economic output increased 57%, and truck tonnage grew 26%. Yet volume on the big four U.S. railroads increased by an average of just 2% for the decade — a figure that mercifully does not include coal traffic. […]
Pennsylvania legislature sees series of rail-regulation bills
HARRISBURG, Pa. — While one wide-ranging bill has advanced out of a Pennsylvania House committee, four other bills aimed at regulating railroads in the state have also been introduced since the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment, which also impacted Pennsylvania residents. The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown, Pa., reports none have yet been voted on by the state House […]
Genesee & Wyoming opens new dispatching center (corrected)
ST. ALBANS, Vt. — Genesee & Wyoming held a grand opening ceremony on Thursday for its American Rail Dispatching Center, from which the company dispatches movements on 100 railroads in 42 states. G&W announced plans for the 10,000-square-foot facility early in 2022 [see “Plans set for new Genesee & Wyoming dispatching center,” Trains News Wire, […]