LOMBARD, Ill. — Carrie Evans, vice president and chief commercial officer of Iowa Interstate Railroad, was elected president of the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers at the organization’s winter meeting earlier this month. She succeeds Stefan Loeb of Watco, who remains one of the organization’s officers as immediate past president. “I look forward to the […]
Train Topic: Rail Industry
Canadian Pacific opposes Class I requests for KCS merger concessions
CALGARY, Alberta – Other Class I railroads should not be able to use the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger process as a way to improve their competitive positions, CP CEO Keith Creel says. BNSF Railway, Canadian National, and Norfolk Southern have sought concessions related to the merger, which is currently under review at the U.S. […]
Severe weather, small grain crop, and merger costs weigh on CP earnings
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific’s fourth-quarter earnings declined due to a combination of harsh weather, a smaller Canadian grain crop, and costs related to the Kansas City Southern merger. CEO Keith Creel said on the company’s earnings call Thursday afternoon that while railroading is an outdoor sport, the extreme conditions in November and December tested the […]
Weekly U.S. rail traffic continues to lag
WASHINGTON — Rail traffic continues to lag behind 2021 levels in the early stages of 2022, according to weekly statistics from the Association of American Railroads. For the week ending Jan. 22, 2022, overall U.S. rail volume was 477,462 carloads and intermodal units, a 9.8% drop from the same week in 2021. Through three weeks […]
R.J. Corman to operate NS branches in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia (updated)
WASHINGTON — Short line holding company R.J. Corman plans to operate 154 miles of Norfolk Southern branches through a combination of acquisitions and leases in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia. R.J. Corman’s Knoxville & Cumberland Gap Railroad will acquire 112 miles of NS lines, including the Jellico Line from Clinton, Tenn., to Lot, Ken., and from […]
Norfolk Southern reports record quarterly, full-year profits and operating ratio
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern on Wednesday reported record fourth-quarter and full-year operating income as well as a record low operating ratio. CEO Jim Squires said the railroad hit or exceeded the three-year financial targets set in 2019 when NS adopted a Precision Scheduled Railroading operating model. “Through a multiyear effort, we delivered on our commitments, […]
NS hiring more conductors, preparing new operating plan to improve service
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern service will improve this spring as crew shortages ease and the railroad rolls out a new operating plan, executives said on Wednesday. “Our service quality was significantly below where we needed it to be” in the fourth quarter due to ongoing crew shortages on several portions of the NS system, Chief […]
Canadian National reports record financial results for fourth quarter
MONTREAL — Canadian National reported record fourth-quarter financial results on Tuesday, despite the impact of severe flooding that shut its main line through southern British Columbia for three weeks. CN’s “Full Speed Ahead” plan to improve the company’s financial results, announced in September amid a proxy contest launched by activist investor TCI Fund Management, gained […]
Judge blocks strike by BNSF unions over attendance policy (updated)
FORT WORTH, Texas — A judge has granted BNSF Railway a temporary restraining order, blocking a threatened strike by two of its unions over new work rules. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports U.S. District Court Judge Mark Pittman said that his ruling does not address whether the dispute between BNSF and the unions — the […]
CN names former CP official Tracy Robinson as its next CEO
MONTREAL — Canadian National on Tuesday named former Canadian Pacific executive Tracy Robinson as its new president and CEO, and reached an agreement with activist investor TCI Fund Management, which has dropped its proxy contest. Robinson spent nearly three decades at CP — with experience including positions in operations, finance, and marketing — before joining […]
Railroads say they welcome unions’ request for mediation in national negotiations
The group representing railroads in bargaining with rail labor unions says it welcomes the move to mediation in the two-year-old negotiations, a move the group representing unions reflects the fact railroads “are not bargaining in good faith.” The National Railway Labor Conference, which represents its member railroads in national labor matters, says in a Monday […]
BNSF Railway needed to end Montana Rail Link lease – analysis
BNSF Railway is taking back Montana Rail Link’s lease on the former Northern Pacific main line across Montana and Idaho for one simple reason: To control its own destiny. In recent years the growth-minded BNSF has made significant capacity investments on its routes to and from the Pacific Northwest. To the east of MRL, BNSF […]