WASHINGTON — With continued strength of intermodal traffic and a rare rise in carload traffic as recovery continued from February’s winter weather issues, U.S. railroads showed an 11.4% increase in total volume for the week ending March 6, 2021, compared to the same week last year. The latest statistics from the Association of American Railroads […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Digest: NTSB releases preliminary report on UP track worker fatality
NTSB issues preliminary report on UP track worker fatality The National Transportation Safety Board indicates it will examine Union Pacific operating rules and the condition of a piece of equipment as part of its ongoing investigation of a fatal accident involving a UP maintenance-of-way worker near Vail, Ariz., in January. In its preliminary report, the […]
Amtrak revives Northeast Corridor sleeping cars
WASHINGTON — Passengers opting to take the train between Boston and Washington, D.C., will have a long-overdue alternative to the 7-hour daytime journey aboard Acela, Amtrak’s fastest train. Overnight northbound train No. 66 and southbound No. 67 (No. 65 on Friday and Saturday nights) are scheduled at 9 to 10 hours depending on the direction […]
Digest: Amtrak adding sleeping-car service on Northeast Corridor
Amtrak to offer sleeping cars on Northeast Regional trains beginning April 5 Amtrak will return sleeping-car service to the Northeast Corridor beginning April 5, with sleepers added to one overnight Northeast Regional train in each direction. Northbound, train No. 66 will depart Washington Union Station at 10 p.m., arriving in New York at 1:55 a.m. […]
Wine shipper touts local service from short line railroads
A major wine shipper has located its facilities almost exclusively on short line railroads with access to two Class I systems as a way to ensure better local service and more competitive rates. G3 Enterprises, which handles shipping for 28 of the top 30 wineries in the U.S., operates regional distribution centers in nine states. […]
All-female steam crew to help Strasburg Rail Road mark International Women’s Day
RONKS, Pa. — Strasburg Rail Road’s first-ever all-female steam engine crew will run all trips for the Pennsylvania tourist line this Saturday, March 6. The assignment coincides with International Women’s Day (March 8) and Women’s History Month. In the cab will be Andrea Biesecker as engineer and Shelley Hall as fireman. They will run the […]
The Home Depot looks to boost rail’s role in bulk shipments
The Home Depot is in the midst of a five-year, $1.2 billion expansion of its distribution network that will allow railroads to increase their share of inbound bulk items sold in the retailer’s 2,200 stores. The expansion, which includes larger buildings with more rail spots, is an opportunity for railroads to convert freight from the […]
Pan Am Southern employment to fall in CSX acquisition of Pan Am Railways
WASHINGTON — CSX Transportation’s proposed acquisition of New England regional Pan Am Railways will have a significant impact on employment levels at Pan Am Southern, the joint venture it will share with Norfolk Southern. Genesee & Wyoming, which has been designated the neutral operator of Pan Am Southern, estimates that it can run the railroad […]
BNSF is bouncing back from harsh winter weather as service, volume recover
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway is recovering quickly after blasts of extreme winter weather raked the system last month. BNSF has turned the corner on restoring fluidity to its network as volume recovers after the weather shocks, John Miller, the railroad’s group vice president of industrial products, told the Pacific Northwest Association of Rail Shippers […]
Digest: DC Metro proposal could cut 22 stations
DC Metro proposal would see 22 stations closed, rail service reduced as of January 2022 The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority would could close 22 Metrorail stations, reduce rail service to 30-minute intervals on all routes, and shut down nightly at 9 p.m. instead of the current 11 p.m. under the rail component of a […]
Santa Fe switchman vividly remembers San Francisco barge fire
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe’s dock at Ferry Point outside of San Francisco burned May 4, 1984. I was on the job in 1984 and remember the fire vividly. The Santa Fe ceased tug-and-barge service across the San Francisco Bay shortly after. When I hired out in the mid-1970s, west end jobs were responsible for […]
Digest: East Broad Top work uncovers decayed dynamite
Friday afternoon rail news: Work at East Broad Top uncovers, removes decayed dynamite Stabilization work on a building at the East Broad Top Railroad took an unexpected turn this week with the discovery of five cases of material labeled as explosives. After work halted, analysis determined the material was probably decayed dynamite, estimated to be […]