Norfolk Southern furloughs 86 at Altoona locomotive shops

Norfolk Southern logo

ALTOONA, Pa. — Norfolk Southern furloughed 86 workers at its Juaniata Locomotive Shop in Altoona on Friday, while eliminating another 14 jobs through attrition, the Altoona Mirror reports. The moves leave the shop with approximately 400 workers. Workers learned of the layoffs Friday morning when they arrived for their shift and were prohibited from entering […]

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Collection elevator

Aerial view of boxcars loading at wooden grain elevator

Collection elevator This small collection elevator near Bayneville, Kans., typical of the thousands of wooden country elevators that were once common across the Midwest and West, is loading a boxcar, while two trucks wait with incoming wheat at the start of the grain rush in June 1952. The small elevator isn’t as wide as the […]

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Canadian government stops train operations through area of B.C. fire

Transport Canada logo

OTTAWA, Ontario — The Canadian government has shut down Canadian National and Canadian Pacific operations through the area hit by a wildfire that devastated the town of Lytton, British Columbia. An order issued by Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra, effective as of 12:01 a.m. PDT today, required both railroads to halt train movements except for emergency […]

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Judge again blocks closure of UP car shop in Palestine, Texas

Union Pacific logo with Building America slogan

PALESTINE, Texas — A Texas judge has again ruled that Union Pacific must continue employment of workers at its Palestine, Texas, car shop, which the railroad had planned to close last month. The Palestine Herald-Press reports Judge Michael Davis of the 369th Judicial District Court in Rusk, Texas, must continue to observe a 1955 judgment […]

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News report says Biden administration will seek to address consolidation, pricing by rail and ocean shipping industries

Surface Transportation Board logo

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration wants U.S. regulatory agencies to address consolidation and what it considers to be anticompetitive pricing by railroads and ocean shipping firms, the Wall Street Journal reports in a paywalled article. The Journal — citing a source familiar with the situation — says the administration will issue an executive order this […]

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Amtrak, Siemens finalize deal for new equipment (updated)

Black and white drawing of new passenger equipment

  WASHINGTON — Amtrak and Siemens Mobility have reached agreement on contracts for 73 to 83 new trainsets to replace Amfleet I and related equipment on Northeast Corridor and state-supported services. A press release from Siemens characterizes the deal as worth $3.4 billion, while Amtrak says the agreement is for $7.3 billion, including a long […]

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CN, KCS make final case for voting trust to federal regulators

Map showing north-south freight routes in central U.S.

WASHINGTON — Responding to comments made to the Surface Transportation Board on their voting trust proposal, Canadian National and Kansas City Southern have made their final case for approval of a voting trust while the CN-KCS merger is being considered by regulators, rebutting at length claims made by rival Canadian Pacific. The Tuesday filing, available […]

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