BNSF Railway is working to clean up a pair of derailments that occurred early today (Saturday, July 20). No injuries or hazardous materials situations resulted from either. The first was reported at approximately 12:46 a.m. near Ottawa, Kan., on BNSF’s Emporia Subdivision, blocking both main tracks. The only cargo spilled was a large amount of […]
U.S. and Canadian railroads appear to be relatively unaffected by the global tech outage that grounded flights and disrupted businesses today, although Union Pacific and Canadian Pacific Kansas City did experience some computer issues. “The CrowdStrike software outage has had varying levels of impact across Union Pacific’s network,” spokeswoman Clarissa Beyah said on Friday morning. […]
Saturday is your chance to explore Norfolk Southern’s Natural Tunnel in Duffield, Va. Norfolk Southern and the Virginia State Parks are hosting Railroad Day July 20 at Natural Tunnel State Park. The event will touch upon local history and promote railroad safety. The park’s chairlift, which provides access to the tunnel area from above, will […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — Canada’s labor minister, Seamus O’Regan, announced today (Thursday, July 18) that he is stepping down from that position and will not seek reelection to parliament. His resignation from the cabinet position is effective Friday, but he will continue to serve as an MP from the St. John’s South-Mount Pearl riding in Newfoundland […]
LOWELL, Ark. — The Quantum premium intermodal service that J.B. Hunt and BNSF Railway launched last year is not growing as quickly as hoped in a slumping freight market, but on-time performance has topped expectations, J.B. Hunt executives said on the company’s earnings call this week. Quantum takes aim at highly service-sensitive freight that has […]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Railroads are moving more traffic than a year ago, but investors aren’t piling into railroad stocks. The stock prices of four of the five Class I railroads trading on the New York Stock Exchange are down this year despite railroads’ volumes being flat, or up slightly, through the first half of 2024 […]
WASHINGTON — A subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure has scheduled a hearing on rail safety for Tuesday, July 23. The Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials will hold the session, “Examining the State of Rail Safety in the Aftermath of the Derailment in East Palestine, Ohio,” at 2 p.m. ET […]
WASHINGTON — U.S. weekly rail traffic continues to run ahead of 2023 levels, thanks to intermodal volume, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. For the week ending July 13, total U.S. volume was 483,806 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 1.3% over the same week in a year ago. That includes […]
PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Reflecting the railroad’s 60% increase in coal business over the last two years, the Reading & Northern Railroad announced it has made changes to its management structure to better deal with that growth. Eric Peters, currently vice president, transportation, will also manage the railroad’s coal fleet. The 2,000 cars, including aluminum […]
DEL MAR, Calif. — The organization that oversees the Del Mar Fairgrounds on Monday formalized its opposition to a proposal to build a rail tunnel beneath the fairgrounds, saying the plan could end a proposal to build affordable housing on the property. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the 22nd District Agricultural Association board voted unanimously […]
FT diesels on a westbound Santa Fe freight idle in front of Joliet (Ill.) Union Station, waiting for the Chief, visible in the distance, to clear the block ahead in Fall 1951. Wallace W. Abbey photo […]
WASHINGTON — Class I railroads say they’re looking forward to explaining their growth strategies to federal regulators during a two-day hearing set for September. Independent rail analyst Anthony B. Hatch says the unprecedented Surface Transportation Board hearing will be political theater that will allow board members to use their bully pulpit. The STB has jurisdiction […]
