Sometimes big stories hide in plain sight. One of them is the jaw-dropping way BNSF Railway has outgrown the other three big U.S. Class I railroads. Over the past two decades, BNSF has owned all of the tonnage growth on the big four U.S. systems. Its gross ton-miles are up 71% since 1996, BNSF’s first […]
OTTAWA — The Canadian government will require railroads to revise rules regarding inspection and maintenance of air brakes and develop a winter operating plan under a ministerial order announced Monday. The move is one of several undertaken by Transport Canada as a result of Transportation Safety Board findings into the February 2019 runaway of a […]
WASHINGTON — A significant gulf between the two sides on pay and medical benefits defines proposals presented by rail labor unions and railroads as the Presidential Emergency Board addressing the contract dispute begins its work. The board began a week of hearings on Sunday afternoon. The three-person board was appointed by President Joe Biden earlier […]
ANZAC, British Columbia — Thirteen cars of a Canadian National train derailed Saturday in a remote area in east central British Columbia, the Prince George Citizen reports. No injuries were reported. A railroad representative said there were no leaks of hazardous materials or fires and no danger to public safety. The cause is under investigation. […]
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has ratified a new agreement with the Illinois & Midland Railroad, a Genesee & Wyoming short line in central Illinois. The BLET said the agreement includes general wage increases of 29% over the five-year life of the contract, which runs through 20206, as well as […]
WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board in September will hold a three-day public hearing on the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger. The hearing, set for Sept. 28, 29, and 30 at the board headquarters, will be livestreamed online, the board announced in a decision released on Friday. Speakers wishing to participate in the hearing […]
Amazon has begun soliciting business from shippers interested in using space in the company’s fleet of 53-foot intermodal containers. The move, touted in a YouTube video posted this month, puts Amazon in direct competition with intermodal providers such as J.B. Hunt, Hub Group, and the intermodal marketing companies that fill rail-owned containers. “With intermodal for […]
TAMPA, Fla. — A long-discussed proposal to launch commuter rail service in the Tampa Bay area is unlikely to advance after CSX Transportation told local officials it is not interested in selling two rail lines in the area. The Tampa Bay Times reports that the railroad — which indicated seven years ago that it would […]
The Boston–Albany section of New York Central’s Pacemaker train for express freight service pauses at Worcester, Mass., to pick up cars in August 1949. The distinctive vermillion-and-gray boxcars were for on-line use only. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific’s second quarter profits and revenue rose despite service problems that prompted the railroad to meter traffic, a move that helped keep the network fluid but came at the expense of lost volume. “We understood that the actions we took to improve fluidity would impact our financial performance,” CEO Lance Fritz […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern is increasing conductor trainee pay to $25 per hour, with a minimum of $200 in earnings per shift, the railroad has announced. Trainees will also be eligible for an on-the-job training incentive of $300 per biweekly pay period, provided they make themselves available to work. “We are committed to ensuring our […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation’s second-quarter earnings improved despite ongoing crew shortages that have snarled operations and forced the railroad to turn away traffic. At the current pace of hiring and training new conductors, CSX expects to hit the magic number of 7,000 active train and engine crews by the end of September, which will […]
