PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Reading & Northern set records for freight revenue, freight traffic, and excursion passenger ridership in 2021, the railroad reported. Freight revenues increased by 10% over 2020 and pre-pandemic levels, boosted by increased traffic and a traffic mix with more higher-revenue moves. The company also saw significant revenue from its warehouse and […]
[<Trains.com members> WATCH: BIG SKIES & IRON RAILS VIDEOS] MISSOULA, Mont. — Montana Rail Link will end its long-term lease on BNSF Railway lines in its namesake state, Idaho, and Washington, with BNSF resuming operation of those routes, MRL President Derek Ollmann told employees in a memo today (Monday, Jan. 10). No timeline for the […]
DEL MAR, Calif. — After lengthy negotiations failed to reach a resolution, the San Diego-area North County Transit District is preparing to move ahead with plans for safety fencing along its railroad right-of-way at the Del Mar Bluffs. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the district informed Del Mar officials the fencing would be on the […]
PHOENIX — Kansas City Southern will shift much of its focus on capacity improvements from Mexico to the U.S. in 2022 while overall capital spending will increase “on the magnitude of 10% or so,” Manny Loureiro, the railroad’s vice president and chief engineer, said Saturday at the National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association Conference. Those […]
OKLAUNION, Texas — Twenty-nine cars of a BNSF Railway train caught fire following a derailment Saturday, closing a highway for several hours. KAUZ-TV reports Wichita Falls and Vernon fire departments, as well as firefighters from Sheppard Air Force Base, responded to the fire involving a train with 98 cars of denatured alcohol. No injuries to […]
A load of hay has been transferred from a Northern Pacific boxcar to a truck for local delivery at Dickinson, N.D., in 1936. Library of Congress photo […]
PHOENIX — There is A LOT going on in terms of capital projects for CSX Transportation — enough that Ed Sparks, the railroad’s chief engineer, bridges, design & construction — had no problem running well past his scheduled 25-minute slot Saturday at the National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association Conference. Rest assured the audience did […]
PORTLAND, Ore. – Heavy rains in the Pacific Northwest caused a mudslide near Kelso, Wash., on Thursday morning that temporarily shut down BNSF Railway’s main line between Portland and Seattle. BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent tells Trains News Wire, “The mud slides north of Kelso have impacted both freight and passenger service. Our crews have been […]
Three Illinois Central GP7s on a train of refrigerator cars loaded with meat from Iowa stand in western Illinois, waiting for a stopped train ahead, in 1958. William D. Middleton photo […]
PHOENIX — Union Pacific CEO Lance Fritz isn’t sure what direction the Surface Transportation Board will take as it considers rules for reciprocal switching, but says the decision poses real risks for the rail industry. Speaking Thursday in a “Fireside Chat” at the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association Conference, Fritz termed the proposed rule […]
WASHINGTON – Canadian Pacific today won Amtrak’s support for its proposed merger with Kansas City Southern after CP and Amtrak reached a deal to expand passenger service in the Midwest and South. CP agreed to more frequent Amtrak service on the Hiawatha route linking Chicago and Milwaukee, as well as extending the corridor to St. Paul, […]
BNSF Railway led the big six Class I railroads in growth in 2021, a year in which rail volume rebounded from the pandemic-related lows of 2020 yet struggled to overcome kinks in the global supply chain. BNSF’s traffic was up 7.4% for the year, with intermodal surging 8.3% and coal up nearly 11%. CSX Transportation […]
