Norfolk Southern taking steps to improve wayside detector network

Black cloud of smoke above town

Norfolk Southern will take several steps to improve its wayside defect detector network in the wake of the National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report on last month’s disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. NTSB officials say the Feb. 3 wreck of train 32N was likely caused by the catastrophic failure of a wheel bearing on […]

Read More…

North Dakota Attorney General indicates BNSF owns Bismarck bridge

Steam-powered passenger train on large truss bridge over water

BISMARCK — North Dakota’s Attorney General said during a State Historical Board Friday that BNSF Railway owns the Bismarck-Mandan Rail Bridge, the first time the attorney general’s office has weighed in on the ownership issue contested by a group that wants to preserve the 140-year-old bridge, which BNSF wants to replace. The Bismarck Tribune reports […]

Read More…

Two unions vote for strike against CN in Canada

Logo of Canadian union Unifor

MONTREAL — Two Canadian unions whose contracts with Canadian National Railway expired at the end of 2022 have voted in favor of a strike, CityNews reports. Unifor Local 100 and Unifor Council 4000 have voted 98% and 97%, respectively, in favor of a strike. The two unions represent about 3,000 workers in mechanical, intermodal, and […]

Read More…

Massachusetts senator calls on STB to reject CP-KCS merger

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has asked the STB to deny the CP-KCS merger. Office of Sen. Elizabeth Warren

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), in a letter to Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman, has asked that the STB deny the merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, saying the merger “would reduce competition in an already highly consolidated market and could cost increased shipping costs.” Warren, in the letter […]

Read More…

Transport Canada to fund 20 rail projects addressing climate change

Transport Canada logo

OTTAWA — Transport Canada will provide up to C$5.4 million in funding for 20 projects nationwide under the Rail Climate Change Adaption Program, which seeks to better prepare railroads for dealing with conditions such as flooding, fires, and more extreme operating temperatures. The program supports research, development, and deployment of innovative technologies, tools, and approaches […]

Read More…

Union Pacific grain cars derail in Kansas

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

WELLINGTON, Kansas — No injuries were reported after 18 cars of grain from a Union Pacific train derailed near Wellington on Saturday evening, CBS News reports. The railroad told CBS, “Crews have cleared the derailed cars, and track repairs are currently underway.” The derailment occurred about 5 p.m. Wellington is about 30 miles south of […]

Read More…

STB approves appointment of Batory as KCS trustee

Ron Batory

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board on Saturday approved the appointment of Ronald L. Batory as trustee of the CP-Kansas City Southern Voting Trust, succeeding the late David Starling. All five members of the board approved the appointment, although board member Robert Primus did so with a concurrence that maintained his objection to the standard […]

Read More…

NS train derails in Springfield, Ohio (updated)

Aerial view of derailed freight cars

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Twenty-eight cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed near Springfield on Saturday evening, leading to an initial shelter-in-place order from local authorities before it was determined no hazardous-materials situation was involved. The Associated Press reports that there were no hazardous materials aboard the train and no injuries were involved. Clark County reported […]

Read More…

Big Skies & Iron Rails, Hauling Freight

With our intrepid railfan Tom Danneman behind the camera, even a seemingly mundane manifest or general merchandise freight train stands out amidst the beautiful backdrop of the American West. Enjoy the striking natural views, complemented by the various sizes, shapes, and colors of modern freight trains traversing Big Skies & Iron Rails! Be sure to […]

Read More…

CN reaches paid sick time agreements with four unions in U.S.

Train with red locomotive approaching curve

MONTREAL — Canadian National has reached agreements with four mechanical unions in the U.S. regarding paid sick time. The agreements provide workers with four paid sick days plus three personal leave days to be used as sick days, CN said today. The four unions are the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, National Conference […]

Read More…

Class I railroads to join FRA close call reporting program (updated)

Head and shoulders short of man in coat and tie

WASHINGTON — All seven Class I railroads will join a Federal Railroad Administration voluntary safety reporting program at the urging of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. In the wake of the disastrous Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Buttigieg wrote the CEOs of the seven major systems on Monday and asked them to […]

Read More…

NTSB expresses concerns about protective covers on tank cars

An "energetic pressure release" from a vinyl chloride tank car at East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 4, 2023. NTSB.

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board says it is “looking closely” at aluminum protective covers on tank cars involved in the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment, over concerns those covers melted on three of the cars, which may have hampered the performance of pressure relief devices. The issue occurred on three of the five cars […]

Read More…