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CHICAGO — Commuter rail operator Metra will restore Saturday schedules to pre-pandemic levels on seven lines as of this Saturday, May 29, and has also announced it will revise its weekday schedule on the Union Pacific Northwest line. The new schedules will be introduced on the BNSF, Milwaukee North, Milwaukee West, Rock Island, Union Pacific […]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Efforts by Class I railroads to hire more engineers and conductors are helping lift workforce numbers from record lows during the coronavirus pandemic. But other forms of railroad employment remain below pre-pandemic numbers, and overall employment is still dramatically lower than it was five years ago. According to the most recent Surface […]
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — With little fanfare, the Connecticut Department of Transportation has turned its Shore Line East commuter service over to Kawasaki M8 electric multiple unit cars, replacing diesel-powered trains using former Virginia Rail Express Mafersa coaches. The EMUs began to cover all trains today (Tuesday, May 24) on the service between New Haven and […]
MONTREAL — When a passenger operator is forced to survive on a budget insufficient to provide service capable of satisfying its country’s travel needs, while on-time reliability remains hamstrung by host railroads, it is almost impossible for the person in charge to make a difference. The abrupt departure of VIA Rail Canada CEO Cynthia Garneau […]
WASHINGTON — The four largest U.S. Class I railroads have told federal regulators that their conductor training programs and hiring pipelines are full as they try to restore service to normal levels amid widespread crew shortages. The railroads’ service recovery plans, submitted to the Surface Transportation Board on Friday as required, outlined the steps BNSF […]
WASHINGTON – The Class I railroads submitted their first batch of expanded performance metrics to federal regulators this week, including a snapshot of on-time performance data. The board on May 6 ordered the railroads to report the data beginning this week in response to shipper complaints and testimony delivered during two days of hearings last […]
PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Reading & Northern took delivery of its first unit train of frac sand on May 15. Norfolk Southern delivered the 75-car train to R&N’s North Reading Yard, where R&N crews were on hand with a five-unit set of SD40-2s to bring the train 120 miles north to R&N’s Sand Storage facility […]
SEATTLE — In its determination to cut costs in 2020 and 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic sucker-punched its prized Northeast Corridor moneymakers, Amtrak management turned off the hiring pipeline while furloughing employees nationwide. But state-based decisions deferring resumption of regional round trips have exacerbated the situation, especially in efforts to hire operating personnel, as prospective […]
OTTAWA — Transport Canada has announced regulatory revisions to address issues involving runaway trains and equipment. Changes to the Canadian Rail Operating Rules and Locomotive Inspection and Safety Rules will set performance standards for locomotives equipped with rollaway protection, designed to automatically apply brakes when there is unintended movement; requirements before leaving a locomotive, such […]
MOBILE, Ala. — With the sound of shattering glass and a big splash of champagne, Genesee & Wyoming short line CG Railway on Wednesday christened one of its new rail ferries that can haul up to 135 freight cars across the Gulf of Mexico. Virginia Reeves, a 34-year G&W employee who works in corporate communications, […]
BOSTON — Canadian National is taking a back-to-basics approach under new CEO Tracy Robinson. The first order of business is to improve the railway’s velocity, which since last fall has generally been running below 2020 and 2021 levels when measured by the average number of miles cars travel per day. “As we bring the schedule […]
Rail labor leaders have given mixed reviews to a call from CSX Transportation CEO Jim Foote for railroads to mend fences with their unionized employees and negotiate new contracts, with the union officials saying the relationship with management is the worst it has been in decades. Foote has called for a change several times in […]
