WINDSOR, Ontario — The Essex Terminal Railway will receive up to C$12.5 million for construction of a new warehouse and expansion of the shore wall at the Port of Windsor, Canada’s transport minister announced Friday. The funding announced by Minister Omar Alghabra, from the National Trade Corridors Fund, is intended to help shift cargo traffic […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Teamsters Canada Rail Conference ratifies CN agreement
MONTREAL — The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, representing approximately 6,000 Canadian National locomotive engineers, conductors, and yard workers, has ratified its new contract with the railroad, CN announced Friday. Some 70.7% of those voting were in favor of the contract, the union said. “I want to graciously thank the members who took the time to […]
Head-end power
Head-end power: Dinner is about to arrive at table 7 in the Southwest Chief’s Superliner dining car. Outside, the late afternoon sun illuminates exhaust blasting skyward as the locomotives up front struggle to maintain speed up the more than 3% grade leading to the top of Raton Pass in New Mexico. Downstairs in the kitchen, […]
Surfliner, Metrolink service through San Clemente to resume Saturday
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink commuter rail service will resume Saturday , May 27, through San Clemente, Calif., exactly a month after the start of the latest disruption to passenger rail operations because of a landslide in the south Orange County community. The LOSSAN (Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo) Rail Corridor […]
Norfolk Southern appoints Atkins Nuclear Secured to lead independent safety review
ATLANTA – In another reaction to the devastating Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio earlier this year, NS has appointed Atkins Nuclear Secured to conduct an independent review of the company’s safety culture. ANS has decades of experience, with a focus on the nuclear sector, and is one of the world’s most respected firms composed […]
STB chairman: Class I railroad strategies are inviting stronger regulation
CHICAGO – Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman told a shipper conference that Class I railroad behavior over the past few years – mass layoffs, crew shortages, and poor service – may require a new approach to regulation. “It may be time to say 2023 is not 1980 and we need to rethink some […]
Laredo and Houston concerns prompted Union Pacific lawsuit over STB’s Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger decision
CHICAGO – Union Pacific is suing the Surface Transportation Board because the agency’s approval of the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger didn’t fully protect cross-border competition at the Laredo, Texas, gateway or address the potential for congestion in Houston, UP CEO Lance Fritz told a shipper conference today. “In their approval they identified our concerns […]
Union Pacific and BLET reach tentative agreement on engineer scheduling
Union Pacific and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen have reached a tentative agreement that will provide engineers with more predictable schedules. The deal, which the union and railroad called “historic,” will provide engineers with an 11 days on, four days off schedule. UP and the BLET said the tentative agreement announced today will […]
Norfolk Southern and unions team up to focus on safety improvements
ATLANTA – Norfolk Southern and the 12 unions that represent the railroad’s employees have agreed to work more closely together to improve safety. “Today, national labor leaders and Norfolk Southern management are committing to work together to enhance rail safety for our people and the communities we serve,” they announced in a letter to employees […]
Marine Corps base will simulate train derailment
QUANTICO, Va. – On May 25, Marines and civilians from Marine Corps Base Quantico will respond to a simulated “derailment” on base, the Marine Corps Times reported. Approximately 180 Marines and 110 to 115 people who work for surrounding Prince William County will be involved in the exercise. Representatives from the county come from the […]
SMART Train planning budget increase for expansion
PETALUMA, Calif. – Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) is planning to use a budget increase to expand its commuter rail service and adjoining pathways. SMART plans to spend $110 million in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, up from the $77 million in this fiscal year. Most of the increase, $41.6 million, will be used for rail […]
Construction begins on new SunRail Station
DELAND, Fla. – Ground was broken Monday for a new SunRail commuter station in Deland. The station is part of SunRail’s Phase 2 Northern Expansion. Phase 2 will add 12.2 miles to the SunRail corridor, expanding service from the DeBary SunRail Station to the new DeLand Station, with a projected opening in the summer of […]