Friday morning rail news: Montreal’s REM begins testing of Alstom light rail trainsets The first trainsets for Montreal’s Réseau express métropolitain light rail system have begun testing, REM reports on its Facebook page. The agency says tests will continue over the next few months between its Brossard station and Milan Boulevard. Alstom is building 106 two-car […]
WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board will review several issues surrounding Colorado, Midland & Pacific’s proposed lease of Union Pacific’s long-dormant route over Tennessee Pass. The board’s decision, released today, indefinitely postpones what is normally a 30-day clock that covers deals between short lines and Class I railroads. Under U.S. law, railroad transactions fall into […]
Still more Friday morning rail news: Chicago Transit Authority unveils plans to rebuild four stations as part of Red-Purple project The Chicago Transit Authority has unveiled designs for four Red Line stations to be rebuilt as part of phase one the CTA’s Red and Purple Modernization project, a $2.1 billion effort to improve the Red […]
WASHINGTON — Carload traffic, which has long lagged behind previous-year totals, was down less than a percent in the latest U.S. rail traffic figures released by the Association of American Railroads. Overall, traffic for the week ending Jan. 23 included 529,030 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 9%, with 298,051 containers and trailers (a 17.8% […]
More Thursday morning rail news: MTA survey finds 97% compliance with mask rule on subways New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority says 97% of subway passengers were complying with the agency’s mask order during a survey conducted Jan. 11-22, while 99% of those on buses were complying during a survey Jan. 4-8. The figures were released […]
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific reported record fourth-quarter and full-year financial results on Wednesday alongside record operating and safety performance. “We had a phenomenal, exceptional 2020 set us up for an exceptional ’21, and we certainly expect to overachieve,” CEO Keith Creel told investors and analysts on the railway’s earnings call. CP expects to see […]
NORFOLK, Va. — After idling the humps at six yards over the past two years under its shift to a Precision Scheduled Railroading operating model, Norfolk Southern now is turning its focus to further boosting train length. The changes aim to help NS close the operating ratio gap with the rest of the industry by reducing […]
More Wednesday morning rail news: CP derailment knocks out power in Field, B.C. The community of Field, B.C., was at risk of running out of electricity Tuesday night after a Canadian Pacific grain train derailed earlier in the day, knocking out power. The CBC reports the train derailed about 1:40 a.m., taking out a power line. CP […]
NORFOLK, Va. — With intermodal and some merchandise volume turning positive in the fourth quarter, Norfolk Southern expects continued traffic growth this year as the economy recovers from the pandemic. NS expects revenue growth of about 9% this year, led by high single-digit growth in intermodal and merchandise volume excluding energy-related traffic. Coal volume will […]
Wednesday morning rail news: Transportation Safety Board of Canada issues report on 2018 CN yard death Failure to fully secure two unattended cars and ice contamination of those cars’ brakes led to a fatal accident in 2018 at Canadian National’s yard in Edmundston, New Brunswick, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada says in a report issued […]
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Winchester & Western, the 100-mile short line with trackage in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey, was able to grow last year despite the pandemic. Traffic on the railroad, which short line holding company OmniTRAX acquired in September 2019, was up a shade over 9% last year. That was below railroad […]
MONTREAL — After increasing momentum in the fourth quarter, Canadian National today expressed optimism for volume recovery in 2021 as intermodal, grain, and some carload segments are seeing strong growth. CN expects volume to grow by around 5% in 2021 amid record Canadian grain tonnage, demand for lumber and propane, and international and domestic intermodal gains […]
