STB chairman says higher pay would help solve railroad crew shortages

Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman says railroad service is suffering for one simple reason: The big four U.S. Class I systems aren’t paying enough to retain and recruit train crews. BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific are experiencing ongoing crew shortages that since last year have caused widespread congestion and […]

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Hudson Bay Railway to get major government funding support

VIA_ChurchIll_Johnston

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The governments of Canada and the province of Manitoba will invest C$147.8 million to upgrade the Hudson Bay Railway, the only year-round ground transportation link to the isolated community of Churchill, Man., which is also Canada’s lone arctic port. The Canadian Press reports the new funds are in addition to the C$157 […]

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North Carolina’s Kinston Railroad begins operation

Logo of Kinston Railroad

KINSTON, N.C. — The latest short line of Jaguar Transport Holdings, North Carolina’s Kinston Railroad, began operation on Aug. 1. The railroad will operate on 6 miles of track owned by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, between an interchange with Norfolk Southern in Kinston and North Carolina Global TransPark, a 2,500-acre industrial and business […]

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July U.S. rail traffic still down, but amount of decline decreases

Weekly table showing U.S. rail traffic by commodity type, plus intermodal totals

WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic remained below 2021 levels, although by a decreasing margin, during July, with overall traffic showing a 1.5% decrease. Statistics from the Association of American railroads show U.S. railroads originated 906,903 carloads for the month, up 0.2% from July 2021, while intermodal traffic of 1,033,906 carloads represented a 3% decline. In […]

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BNSF train derails in East Galesburg, Ill.

BNSF Railway logo

EAST GALESBURG, Ill. — Some 30 to 40 cars of an eastbound BNSF Railway train derailed Tuesday night, according to East Galesburg’s mayor, blocking both tracks on the Chillicothe Subdivision of the railroad’s Southern Transcon mainline. The Galesburg Register-Mail reports the accident occurred about 9 p.m. Tuesday. Mayor Darrell Corbin said he was told no […]

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House bill seeks to allow some online training of new railroad hires

Man in suit standing in front of American flag

WASHINGTON — An Ohio congressman has introduced a bill which would allow trainees for railroad jobs to complete some aspects of their training online. U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson (R-Zanesville, Ohio) introduced the Rail Employee Training Modernization Act last week, saying that existing regulations require employees to take part in classroom instruction, which delays training because […]

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