Union Pacific worker struck, killed by Metra train

Commuter train arrives at platform with another train stopped on adjacent track

KENOSHA, WIs. — A Union Pacific worker was struck and killed today (Wednesday, Sept. 4) by a Metra commuter train in Kenosha, WISN-TV reports. The incident occurred about 12:17 p.m. near 13th Avenue and 69th Street, about a half-mile south of the Kenosha Metra station. The worker killed has been identified as 34-year-old Austin Scott […]

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Big Boy’s ‘Westward Bound’ recap

Steam locomotive and train round curve in desert landscape

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Union Pacific Railroad‘s Big Boy No. 4014 is en route for its second outing of the 2024 steam season. During its “Heartland of America” tour, the 4-8-8-4 will travel eastbound toward Illinois before pointing its headlight south to Texas. Before looking more into the fall trip, here’s a recap of both the […]

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Regulators delve into an Amtrak ‘Sunset Limited’ mystery

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has received thousands of pages of documents as part of its investigation into the substandard on-time performance of Amtrak’s Sunset Limited. And yet regulators still have a mystery on their hands. The key question they want answered: Which railroads officially host the easternmost 15.5 miles of the Sunset Limited’s […]

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Why a giant coal merger matters to Class I railroads: Analysis

Black and white locomotives with coal hoppers cresting hill

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Business resiliency and opportunities for CSX and Norfolk Southern to recraft how they do business with two top coal customers makes the announced merger between Arch Resources and Consol Energy important to railroads. Arch and Consol have been major customers to the four big Class I railroads before announcing their intentions to […]

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BNSF and UP testing longer schedules for Southwest Chief, California Zephyr, and Texas Eagle

Passenger train rounds curve

WASHINGTON — Nearly four years after new federal on-time performance standards went into effect, Amtrak is nearing agreements with BNSF Railway and Union Pacific for certification of disputed train schedules. Some 95% of Amtrak train schedules have been certified under the federal Metrics and Minimum Standards for Intercity Passenger Service rule, according to the latest […]

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Regulators order UP, Metra to mediation

Two commuter trains meet on curve

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has ordered Union Pacific and Metra to enter mediation over their inability to reach financial terms on some aspects of a contract to continue commuter train service on three Metra routes using Union Pacific lines. In a decision issued Wednesday, Aug. 14, the board by a 4-0 vote granted […]

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Mexico rail group “surprised” at capacity concerns raised by U.S. grain shippers

MEXICO CITY — Pushing back against criticism from American agricultural exporters, the Mexican Railway Association insists that the country’s railroads have the capacity to handle growing cross-border trade with the United States. A coalition of American agricultural shippers told to federal regulators last month that capacity problems — not surges of migrants seeking refuge in […]

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