PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has signed a bill authorizing $6.25 million in state funding for the rehabilitation of the Sisseton-Milbank Railroad, a 37-mile short line with a badly deteriorated right-of-way needed to move agricultural products. KXLG Radio reports Noem signed Senate Bill 16 earlier this week. The appropriation from the state’s […]
Type of Train: Freight
Weekly U.S. rail traffic again down as intermodal volume continues to slump
WASHINGTON — With intermodal traffic continuing to plummet, U.S. rail volume once again fell by the largest amount so far this year compared to the same week in 2022. Statistics from the Association of American Railroads for the week ending March 18 show overall traffic was 453,500 carloads and intermodal units, a 9.4% decrease from […]
Big Skies & Iron Rails, Branch Lines and Locals
Branch line and local trains deliver goods to big and small towns everywhere. These routes are important arteries in the nation’s economic lifeline, especially to remote areas. While we use the term “last mile”, sometimes a local will traverse many miles to get cargo from main line railroad distribution yards to Main Street, USA. Take […]
Senators again grill Norfolk Southern over East Palestine derailment
WASHINGTON — Senators put Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw in the hot seat today during a hearing on improving railroad safety in the wake of the toxic derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Shaw once again apologized for the East Palestine derailment, said the railroad is taking steps to improve safety, and will continue to support […]
Union Pacific announces sick-time agreements with eight unions
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific announced today that it had reached agreement with eight unions on paid sick leave, bringing to nine the number of UP unions with such agreements. The agreements, effective April 1, cover the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers; Brotherhood of Railway Carmen; International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; International […]
Train, truck entered grade crossing simultaneously in fatal Cleveland accident, NTSB says in preliminary report
WASHINGTON — The conductor of a Norfolk Southern train was killed earlier this month when the freight car he was riding in a shoving move and a dump truck “simultaneously entered” a private grade crossing at a Cleveland steel mill, pinning the conductor between the railcar and dump truck, according to the National Transportation Safety […]
Failure of soft subgrade led to 2020 CP grain train derailment, TSB says in accident report
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — A track subgrade consisting of soft, saturated peat with poor drainage likely led to a sudden failure of that subgrade, triggering a derailment of 53 cars of a Canadian Pacific grain train near Ignace, Ontario, in May 2020, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada indicated in an accident report released Tuesday. Operating […]
NTSB: Some East Palestine tank car pressure relief devices were compromised
WASHINGTON — The pressure release valves on some of the tank cars carrying vinyl chloride in the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment of a Norfolk Southern train may have been compromised, the National Transportation Safety Board said today. The valves maintain internal pressure at safe levels by venting material to reduce the potential for a catastrophic […]
Lionel Vision Line Stock Cars squeal into stores
The latest Lionel Vision Line Stock Car sets are now hitting the market. You might call them a squeal of a deal. Car sets aren’t new to the orange-and-blue. We were introduced in 2014 to these three-packs with steel-sided reefers. Since then, the train maker has expanded on the theme. In 2020 the train maker […]
KCS working to ease congestion in Mexico as CP merger date looms
KANSAS CITY — Kansas City Southern de Mexico is battling congestion in key terminals thanks to a combination of stronger than expected traffic growth and a shortage of train crews. The congestion, which began in December, now threatens to gum up Kansas City Southern’s U.S. network less than four weeks before Canadian Pacific gains control […]
NTSB focusing on performance of wheelsets in NS derailment in Springfield, Ohio
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the March 4 derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train in Springfield, Ohio, is focusing on the performance of wheelsets, the board said in a preliminary report. Four days after the derailment NS began removing from service 517 steel coil cars made by National Steel Car […]
Positioning of dead-in-tow locomotives in Alabama derailment was against NS rules, NTSB says in preliminary report
WASHINGTON — Two locomotives being transported dead-in-tow were coupled together, contrary to Norfolk Southern operating rules, in the consist of the NS train that derailed March 9 near Anniston, Ala., according to a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report released Monday. With Norfolk Southern under close scrutiny in the wake of February’s derailment in East […]