Wabtec acquires ARINC’s dispatching, back-office rail business

Men looking at rail dispatching displays

PITTSBURGH — Wabtec Corp. has acquired the rail solutions segment of ARINC (Aeronautical Radio Inc.), which provides dispatching and back-office systems, from Collins Aerospace, Wabtec announced today (Thursday, June 16). ARINC provides systems with integrated train control and positive train control; control-center integration, and customer information systems for intercity, commuter, and transit rail operations, as […]

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Mediation ends in rail contract negotiations; arbitration offered

Crew member on ground next to locomotive

WASHINGTON — The National Mediation Board will end mediation between railroads and their unions over the long-running negotiations for a new national contract, moving the contract process closer to intervention by President Joe Biden. The organization representing railroads in the negotiations, the National Carriers’ Conference Committee, said in a press release that it was “disappointed […]

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CN’s deal to acquire CSX Massena Line is officially off

Blue and yello locomotives with short string of freight cars on straight track

CHICAGO — Canadian National’s proposed acquisition of CSX Transportation’s line linking Syracuse, N.Y., with Montreal is officially dead. The railroads informed a federal court last week that the purchase and sale agreement had expired and that the deal was off. As a result, the railroads asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit […]

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Regulators scold railroads over recovery plans, order improvements

freight train

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board, making clear its unhappiness with service recovery plans filed by the four largest U.S. Class I railroads, will require those railroads to correct deficiencies in service recovery plans submitted to the board, and to provide additional information on how they plan to improve service and communication with customers. At […]

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House subcommittee sets Tuesday hearing on rail safety

Logo of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

WASHINGTON — The House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials will hold a hearing on freight rail safety on Tuesday, June 14. The hearing, announced by Rep. Peter Defazio (D-Ore.), chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Rep. Donald M. Payne (D-N.J.), chair of the subcommittee, is set for 10 a.m. […]

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Norfolk Southern warns that CP-KCS merger would hurt service on Meridian Speedway

NS9656

WASHINGTON — The Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger threatens to degrade intermodal service on the Meridian Speedway that serves as a shortcut between the Southeast and Southwest, Norfolk Southern told federal regulators this week. NS and KCS currently operate interline intermodal trains over the Meridian, Miss.-Shreveport, La., joint venture. KCS handles the NS trains over […]

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FRA releases new rule on fatigue management

Federal Railroad Administration logo

WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has issued its new rule on railroad fatigue management, set for formal publication on Monday, and at least one rail union leader has offered a positive response. The final rule, “Fatigue Risk Management Programs for Certain Passenger and Freight Railroads,” is available here for public inspection. Following its publication […]

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