WASHINGTON – U.S. weekly rail traffic fell 1.7% for the week ending Sept. 9, with carload up 0.6% and intermodal volume down 3.8% compared to last year, the Association of American Railroads says. Six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2022. They included motor vehicles and […]
UAW strike A potential United Auto Workers strike against the Big Three automakers would put a dent in railroads’ motor vehicle and parts volume – the traffic segment that’s shown the most growth this year as overall rail volume has declined. The UAW has set a midnight deadline tonight for a strike at Ford, GM, […]
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. – Canadian Pacific Kansas City Chief Executive Officer Keith Creel today touted the benefits of the railway’s flagship single-line Mexico Midwest Express service linking Chicago and Mexico. Yesterday Union Pacific announced that it had shaved a day off of its rival cross-border Falcon Premium intermodal trains run in conjunction with Canadian National […]
LOS ANGELES – Parallel Systems today introduced its second generation battery-electric autonomous container car system, which the company hopes will see pilot testing on Genesee & Wyoming short lines in Georgia as well as with international customers. Parallel says the new prototype is undergoing testing to verify the system’s ability to operate on the conventional […]
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. – New Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena says his strategy for the railroad is a simple one: Grow through great safety and excellence in operations and service. Vena, in his first public remarks since becoming chief executive last month, told an investor conference today that UP wants to grow with its customers. […]
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. – In one of his first moves as Union Pacific’s new CEO, Jim Vena took a full day out of the railroad’s premium cross-border interline intermodal service with Ferromex, including the new Falcon Premium service that connects the Canadian National intermodal network with Mexico via Chicago. Since the schedules were improved shortly […]
OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific says the results of the Federal Railroad Administration’s focused inspections of its freight cars and locomotives raised more questions than answers. “Typically, inspections by the FRA include a focused audit close out with clear findings and action steps, as well as a meeting to discuss any findings and mitigation approaches,” […]
WASHINGTON – The track circuit for a California siding where Union Pacific had stored empty well cars for more than eight months shifted between occupied and unoccupied nearly two dozen times in the nine hours before a stack train was routed into the siding with fatal results [see “UP train in fatal collision hit cars […]
WASHINGTON – The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a safety bulletin to ensure that railroads are aware of a Sept. 1 switching accident that resulted in the amputation of a conductor’s leg. The FRA is investigating the incident, which occurred on a railroad that the agency did not identify. “A switching crew, comprised of a […]
Progress Rail has filed an antitrust suit against Wabtec, arguing that the rival locomotive maker has engaged in anticompetitive behavior and should have to divest its acquisition of GE Transportation. The 2019 GE acquisition, Progress Rail says in its lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Delaware last week, tipped the competitive balance in […]
Canadian National and Norfolk Southern have teamed up for new cross-border domestic interline intermodal service that will link Atlanta with six Canadian locations and Kansas City, Mo., with Toronto and Montreal. The service, announced today, will launch on Oct. 2 with new steel-wheel interchanges in Detroit and Chicago, the railroads said. The service will connect […]
Last month Trains sat down with Stefan Loeb, Norfolk Southern’s vice president of first and final mile markets, to discuss how local service can help the railroad grow. The position was created in April, when Loeb joined NS from shortline holding company Watco, where he was chief commercial officer [see “Norfolk Southern names intermodal and […]
