WASHINGTON – BNSF Railway is taking several steps to improve its service to grain shippers, including boosting crew and locomotive availability, CEO Katie Farmer wrote in a letter to the National Grain and Feed Association this week. The trade group representing grain shippers complained to the Surface Transportation Board last week regarding deteriorating service from […]
Type of Train: Freight
Rail issues lead to cutbacks by Canadian forest products company
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Forest products company Canfor will cut production at sawmills in Western Canada because of “extreme supply chain challenges” relating to rail service, the news site Business in Vancouver reports. Subsidiary Canfor Pulp Produces had previously announced it would continue to curtail production at its plant in Taylor, B.C., for at least […]
Safety board issues findings and recommendations after probe of fatal CP runaway (Updated)
CALGARY, Alberta — The degradation of air brakes in extreme cold, the limited effectiveness of current train brake tests, and inadequate training and experience of supervisory personnel contributed to the 2019 Canadian Pacific grain train runaway and derailment that killed three crew members in British Columbia’s Kicking Horse Pass. That’s the conclusion of the Transportation […]
Lionel LionChief 2.0 Baby K4 review
The Lionel LionChief 2.0 Baby K4 is a modern O gauge steam engine that represents the Pennsylvania RR’s proud Pacific type. The model is simply detailed with lots of operating features including a fan-driven smoke unit, lighted flickering firebox, crew figures, and more! It runs well and is equally at home pulling a set of […]
U.S. rail traffic remains below 2021 levels
WASHINGTON — U.S. weekly rail traffic remains below 2021 levels in the latest statistics released by the Association of American Railroads. For the week ending March 26, total rail traffic was 504,817 carloads and intermodal units. That is down 3.2% compared to the same week in 2021, and a greater drop than the 2.7% decrease […]
Transportation Safety Board of Canada set to release report on fatal CP derailment
CALGARY — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada will release its investigation report Thursday on the February 2019 derailment of a runaway Canadian Pacific train near Field, British Columbia, that killed three crew members. The agency is set to release the report and hold a press conference on its findings in Calgary. The press conference […]
Watering hogs on the UP
A triple-headed shower wets down the hogs riding in Union Pacific triple-deck cars at Dry Lake, Nev., on a hot July day in 1977. The train is the California Livestock Special, bound for Los Angeles. Steve Patterson photo […]
Will autonomous trucks put the iron horse out to pasture? – Analysis
There’s no question that autonomous trucks pose a threat to the railroad industry. They’re not here quite yet, but TuSimple is proving the concept with driverless rigs that are making revenue runs on highways in the Southwest. And other companies are working to develop battery-electric trucks. If proven feasible and deployed in sufficient numbers, driverless […]
Coast Guard to communicate with STB, rather than parties in Gulf Coast dispute
WASHINGTON — A U.S. Coast Guard official asked to meet with the parties involved in the Amtrak Gulf Coast dispute says the service branch will deal directly with federal regulators, the parties have informed the Surface Transportation Board. In a joint filing Monday by Amtrak, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and the Alabama State Port Authority […]
CSX, NS ask regulators to order mediation in Amtrak Gulf Coast case (updated)
WASHINGTON — The three parties opposing Amtrak’s effort to launch Gulf Coast passenger service have asked the Surface Transportation Board to require mediation in the case, set for a hearing before the board in April. Amtrak has filed a response opposing the request. In a Friday, March 25, joint filing, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and […]
Grain shippers complain about delays on BNSF, NS, and UP
WASHINGTON — The trade group representing grain producers says severe delays on BNSF Railway, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific have forced its members to shut down flour mills as well as feed mills that produce food for livestock. The National Grain and Feed Association outlined the rail service problems in a letter posted to the […]
Russia-Ukraine war likely to bolster U.S. coal exports: Analysis
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. railroads are hauling more coal this year, and coal analysts say international demand is likely to strengthen U.S. coal exports in part to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The Energy Information Administration’s latest outlook expects U.S. coal production to rise 4% in 2022 to 604 million short tons. It anticipates the […]