WASHINGTON — U.S. railroads’ traffic slump to begin 2022 extended to a fifth week, as railroads moved 458,152 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Feb. 5, a 7.6% drop from the same week in 2021. Through five weeks of the new year, overall rail traffic is running 9.1% below 2021 levels, with intermodal traffic […]
Four F7s and a GP9 are reflected in the Colorado River as they roll a Denver & Rio Grande Western freight east through Glenwood Canyon in October 1960. George G. Speir photo […]
MERCED, Calif. — The Merced County Board of Supervisors has approved an agreement with Patriot Rail to develop a “rail district” at the Castle Commerce Center, a 1,912-acre freight transportation hub including an airport with 11,800 feet of runway, as well as rail and road access. The location in California’s Central Valley is approximately 125 […]
WASHINGTON — Canadian National is making a bold claim: It will take more trucks off the highway than what’s projected for the entire Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger if regulators force divestiture of the KCS line linking Springfield, Ill., and Kansas City. CN told the Surface Transportation Board last month that it intended to file […]
DOUGLAS, Ga. — Both members of the train were reported to have been taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries after a CSX intermodal train struck a truck and derailed in Douglas, Ga., on Monday afternoon. WFXL-TV reports that the train of two locomotives and 39 cars struck an unoccupied semi truck that […]
WASHINGTON — There are now dueling petitions over Amtrak’s effort to launch Gulf Coast passenger service. CSX Transportation last week asked shippers to sign a petition or send letters to the Surface Transportation Board in support of its position opposing Gulf Coast service unless Amtrak pays for extensive infrastructure work [see “CSX seeks shipper support […]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — CEOs of five Class I railroads are currently on the schedule for this year’s North American Rail Shippers meeting, to be held May 9-11 at the Kansas City Downtown Marriott. Scheduled or invited to appear are Canadian Pacific’s Keith Creel, BNSF’s Katie Farmer, CSX’s Jim Foote, Kansas City Southern’s Pat Ottensmeyer, […]
WASHINGTON— More than a dozen rail shippers and trade associations from across North America have written to federal regulators to express concern about how proposed Amtrak service on the Gulf Coast could harm freight service between Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans. Most of the submissions are form letters that urge the Surface Transportation Board to […]
LEWISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania rail authority which owns five short lines served by contract operators has acquired the operating rights to 9 miles of Norfolk Southern trackage in Snyder County, Pa. In its December meeting, the Susquehanna Economic Development Agency-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) Joint Rail Authority agreed to purchase rail assets and a freight […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation aims to round up shipper support before a Surface Transportation Board hearing this month regarding Amtrak’s controversial quest to launch passenger service on the Gulf Coast. In an email to the railroad’s customers, CEO Jim Foote asked shippers to sign a petition or to write to the STB directly regarding […]
ALBANY, N.Y. — The state of New York has awarded $76.4 million in grants to fund 38 freight rail infrastructure projects, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday. The awards range from $100,000 for the Ontario Midland Railroad to resurface a grade crossing to $5 million to Norfolk Southern for projects in the capital region including 15 […]
MOULDRIGE, Kan. — Two farm cooperatives have announced plans to build a grain shuttle loader near Sterling, Kan., to be served by Watco’s Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad. It will be the third high-speed shuttle loading facility owned by CHS Inc. and Mid Kansas Cooperative (MKC). Operations are expected to begin by late 2023, although the […]
