CSX lauds chemical shippers for safety records

CSX logo

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation this week presented 65 customers with its annual Chemical Safety Excellence Award for their safe transportation of hazardous materials in 2021. The Chemical Safety Excellence Awards were presented to customers who shipped at least 600 carloads of hazardous materials with CSX during the year without a release due to controllable […]

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NS train derails near Springfield, Ohio

Norfolk Southern logo

MAD RIVER TOWNSHIP, Ohio — No injuries were reported when a Norfolk Southern train derailed Thursday evening southwest of Springfield, Ohio. NS reports preliminary information indicates 20 cars are involved. Crews were on hand as of Thursday night to begin rerailing equipment and clearing the scene, with additional support en route. Firefighters responded to a […]

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New York legislators introduce state bill to require two-person crews

ALBANY, N.Y. — Legislators in New York state have introduced bills requiring two-person crews for most freight operations in the state. Senate bill S3953, introduced by Sen. Timothy M. Kennedy (D-Buffalo), would require two-person crews for Class I and Class II railroads, except for those engaged in switching, and specifies penalties beginning at $250 to […]

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Louisville & Indiana Railroad acquires Southern Indiana Railway

Maroon locomotives in switching yard

  JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — The Louisville & Indiana Railroad (LIRC), a 106-mile-long regional carrier connecting Indianapolis with Louisville, Ky., has acquired a Louisville-area short line, the defunct 5.5-mile-long Southern Indiana Railway (SIND). One of several railroads owned by the Chicago-based Anacostia Rail Holdings Co., LIRC operates from a yard and maintenance shop here. It will […]

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Congress critical of rail service failures, asks STB to move faster to solve problems

Chicago Railfanning at Lisle: Orange locomotives moving train in heavy snow.

WASHINGTON — Members of a key congressional committee on Wednesday expressed frustration with widespread railroad service problems and the Surface Transportation Board’s response. “The facts are undeniable. Freight service in the United States of America … is abysmal,” said Rep. Peter DeFazio, the Oregon Democrat who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. DeFazio said […]

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Secrecy issues dominate as Gulf Coast STB hearing continues: Analysis

Passenger train with theater car at rear stopped at station

WASHINGTON — Cross-examination of Jim Blair, Amtrak’s senior director of host railroads, consumed the full 8-hour, 28-minute session Monday as the Surface Transportation Board’s hearing on the effort to launch passenger service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., resumed after an almost three-week hiatus. Blair was questioned by lawyers from Norfolk Southern, CSX Transportation, and […]

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Runaway barge strikes NS bridge on flooded Potomac

Train on tall bridge over river

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. — Two construction barges broke loose on the flood-swollen Potomac River, with one of them striking the 1904 Norfolk Southern deck truss bridge here before hanging up further east. Both runaway vessels were engaged in work at a section of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park to the north along the […]

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Canadian regulators propose more detailed requirements for reporting railroad performance metrics

Canadian Pacific and Canadian National trains pass

OTTAWA, Ontario – Class I railroads operating in Canada would be required to report additional performance and staffing metrics under a proposal Canadian regulators unveiled on Friday. Transport Canada’s move was announced on the same day that the Surface Transportation Board said it will temporarily require the big railroads to provide more detailed operational and […]

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