A Canadian Pacific manifest freight heads through Deerfield, Ill., on July 3, 2022. David Lassen WASHINGTON — The long-running Chicago interchange dispute between Canadian National and Canadian Pacific is back in the spotlight again. The Surface Transportation Board last month said the case raises broad issues regarding interchange practices. And so it’s seeking input from […]
Type of Train: Freight
Regional Rail acquires Canada’s Great Sandhills Railway
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. — Regional Rail LLC, a holding company with 10 U.S. short lines and other rail-related companies, has announced it will expand into Canada with acquisition of the Great Sandhills Railway, along with interests in three other freight rail assets in western Canada. The new companies, acquired from grain firm 3G Canada Limited, […]
San Clemente hillside still moving; installation of ground anchors to begin
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. — The unstable slope along the rail line used by Amtrak and Metrolink trains in south Orange County continues to move, but excavation is scheduled to begin today (Friday, Nov. 11) for the installation of ground anchors to stabilize the hillside, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Passenger service on the Surf Line […]
Tri-Rail service resumes; SunRail still shut down
MIAMI — Tri-Rail commuter operations resumed this morning (Friday, Nov. 11) after being suspended Wednesday evening and Thursday because of Hurricane Nicole. In the Orlando area, SunRail remains shut down. Tri-Rail crews spent much of Thursday inspecting the right-of-way for the 73.4-mile, 18-station system and reinstalling crossing gates, the operator said on its Twitter feed. […]
Westbound Empire Builder to miss North Dakota stops in expected blizzard
RUGBY, N.D. — With extreme winter weather expected tomorrow (Friday, Nov. 11) and Saturday, BNSF Railway has notified Amtrak that it will enact directional running between Minot and Fargo, N.D., for those days, forcing the westbound Empire Builder to miss scheduled stops in Grand Forks, Devils Lake, and Rugby. Forecasts are for 10 to 15 […]
STB grants delay in final Gulf Coast hearing (updated)
WASHINGTON — Having been told there is a “substantial probability” the parties involved can reach an agreement through mediation, the Surface Transportation Board has agreed to postpone the final two days of hearings over Amtrak’s efforts to launch Gulf Coast passenger service until Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. The hearings had been scheduled for Nov. […]
Canadian government to help fund transload project at Port of Hamilton
HAMILTON, Ontario — The Canadian government will invest up to C$5 million in transloading facilities at the Port of Hamilton, aiding the transfer of steel products between marine, rail, and road transport. In all, the project by the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority will cost almost C$10 million and will address supply-chain congestion at the port. “As […]
Rochelle, Ill., holds groundbreaking for intermodal facility at transload center
ROCHELLE, Ill. — The city of Rochelle has broken ground on its new Intermodal Transload Center, which will offer both intermodal service and transloading for a variety of commodities. Intermodal service could begin as early as spring 2023, the city says. “The Union Pacific Global III Intermodal facility abruptly idled in 2019, leaving local industries […]
U.S. weekly rail traffic down slightly for week ending Nov. 5
WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic showed a slight decline for the week ending Nov. 5, after having displayed a slight uptick the previous week, according to the latest figures from the Association of American Railroads. The total volume of 502,106 carloads and intermodal units represented a 0.4% decline compared to the corresponding week in 2021. That […]
Railroads and maintenance of way union extend cooling off period until December
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Class I railroads and the union representing maintenance of way employees today agreed to extend their cooling off period through at least Dec. 4, eliminating the prospect of a national strike or lockout this month. The prior cooling off period between the National Carriers Conference Committee and the Brotherhood of Maintenance […]
J.B. Hunt sees massive intermodal growth opportunity on BNSF Railway
CHICAGO — J.B. Hunt executives see the potential for major growth with partner BNSF Railway next year thanks to rival Schneider shifting its intermodal business to Union Pacific. Schneider’s move to UP, effective Jan. 1, comes a year after another major truckload carrier, Knight-Swift, left BNSF for UP. “We have massive capacity becoming available to […]
Union Pacific launches pilot program to provide more predictable schedules for engineers
CHICAGO – Union Pacific is running a small pilot program in Kansas that aims to bring more predictability to engineer schedules. The experiment comes as railroads have been having trouble retaining train crews and hiring new conductors at many locations across their systems — due in part to the unpredictable nature of the jobs. Ongoing […]