WASHINGTON – Canadian Pacific has asked federal regulators to determine whether the Belt Railway of Chicago’s Clearing Yard is a reasonable location to interchange traffic with Canadian National. It’s the latest twist in the Canadian railways’ long-running dispute over where to exchange traffic in Chicago. The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in December vacated […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Federal judge allows BNSF suit over Cicero sewer rates to proceed
CHICAGO — A federal judge has brushed off efforts by Cicero, Ill., to block a BNSF Railway lawsuit over a $1 million increase in sewer rates, saying the ordinance targeted at the railroad’s yard “does not simply impact railroads — it effectively holds them hostage.” The Cook County Record reports that U.S. District Judge Steven […]
Metrolink to add 26 trains to schedule
LOS ANGELES — Southern California commuter rail operator Metrolink will add 26 trains to its schedule on April 4, moving closer to restoring service to its pre-pandemic level. The schedule changes will also see new Sunday service on the commuter operator’s San Bernardino Line, and the option for Ventura County Line travelers to use four […]
Canadian Pacific, union agree to arbitration, ending work stoppage
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference have agreed to take their contract dispute to binding arbitration, ending the shutdown of the railroad in Canada that began at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Sunday. The agreement will allow the railroad to resume operations in Canada today (Tuesday, March 22, 2022) after a […]
Tourist railroads have a workforce issue: Analysis
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It is currently not uncommon for small businesses to be short of workers to cover basic functions. This is true in the tourist rail industry, which was drastically affected by the pandemic, where some railroads are struggling to fill jobs as their season approaches. According to the U.S. Travel Association, leisure and […]
Canadian Pacific shutdown begins in Canada (updated)
CALGARY, Alberta — With each side blaming the other, a dispute between Canadian Pacific and the union representing 3,000 train crew members and yard workers has led to a halt of the railroad’s operations in Canada. Canada’s Minister of Labor, Seamus O’Regan, confirmed the stoppage had begun in a Twitter post at 12:01 a.m. EDT […]
Adventures of a railroad station agent
I’d been hired as second-shift railroad station agent at Channing, Mich., for the Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad in June 1980. The railroad had taken over operation of the Milwaukee Road’s lines north of Green Bay, Wis., three months earlier. I was 23 years old and had no qualifications for the job, other than I […]
Metra to add trains on BNSF line
CHICAGO — Metra will make major changes to the weekday schedule on the BNSF line, historically its most-used route, with a net increase from 86 to 91 trains as the route moves closer to its pre-pandemic level. The new schedule, effective March 28, will include four new trains, restoration of three trains dropped in November […]
STB seems likely to move ahead with a new reciprocal switching rule
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators seem likely to impose a new reciprocal switching rule that would open up more carload traffic to competition between Class I railroads. During two full days of hearings that wrapped up on Wednesday night, the Surface Transportation Board was sympathetic to shipper complaints about a combination of high rates and poor […]
Metra opposes CP-KCS merger in regulatory filing
WASHINGTON — Chicago-area commuter rail operator Metra has come out against the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, telling the Surface Transportation board in a 946-page filing that the merger would bring delays, prevent expansion of service, raise safety issues, and increase Metra’s infrastructure costs. The communter operator also says its traffic modeling indicates the operating […]
CP notifies union of intent to lock out crews in Canada (updated)
CALGARY — Canadian Pacific will lock out the approximately 3,000 members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference as of 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, March 20, unless there is an agreement between the railroad and union by then, or the two sides agree to binding arbitration. The railroad announced the move on Wednesday. On Thursday, the […]
Union says BNSF, Norfolk Southern have declared impasse in crew-size negotiations
CLEVELAND, Ohio — BNSF Railway and Norfolk Southern have declared an impasse in negotiations with unions over crew size, one of the unions has informed its members. The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division told its members that the two railroads declared the impasse under Section 6 of the Railway […]