WASHINGTON – Today, 450 railroad industry employees will knock on 330 doors on Capitol Hill, exercising their first Amendment right to petition their government and tell their story. The annual gathering of freight rail professionals, known as Railroad Day on Capitol Hill, was first held nearly twenty years ago. The gathering is unique as it […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
US railroad traffic drops, again, for the week ending Feb. 29, 2020 NEWSWIRE
Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Feb. 29, 2020, as well as volumes for February 2020. U.S. railroads originated 927,084 carloads in February 2020, down 7.3%, or 73,058 carloads, from February 2019. U.S. railroads also originated 997,683 containers and trailers in […]
Union Pacific reports mixed on-time performance results NEWSWIRE
UP performance numbers presented this week at a conference in Florida. Union Pacific GRANDE LAKES, Fla. – Union Pacific’s intermodal on-time performance improved in January, but the reliability of the railroad’s merchandise and automotive traffic deteriorated, partly due to the impact of the idling of the hump at Davidson Yard in Fort Worth, Texas. For the […]
Canadian government, indigenous groups reach tentative deal on pipeline protest NEWSWIRE
Government officials and an indigenous group in British Columbia have reached a tentative deal on a gas pipeline, the subject of protests which led to blockades of rail lines across Canada. While one blockade remains in place, Canadian National has begun recalling workers laid off during the protests, while VIA Rail Canada expects to restore […]
Class I operating ratios reach new lows in 2019 NEWSWIRE
A CSX train passes through Blue Island, Ill., in September 2019. CSX led Class I railroads in operating ratio in 2019. TRAINS: David Lassen The operating ratio at every Class I railroad fell below 65% for the first time in 2019 as the industry average improved to an all-time low of 61.9%. The increased profitability […]
Trains News Wire Digest for Friday, Feb. 28 NEWSWIRE
Friday morning rail news: — Norfolk Southern has informed customers that Pan Am Railways’ Hoosac Tunnel in Western Massachusetts is now expected to remain out of service until mid-March, following the partial collapse of a wall in the 145-year-old tunnel on Feb. 12. The closure affects the line between Mechanicville, N.Y., and Ayer, Mass.; NS […]
Transport minister warns Canadian rail recovery will take weeks (updated) NEWSWIRE
Transport Minister Marc Garneau says Canada’s freight rail system faces “many, many weeks” of delays as a result of protests by and in support of indigenous groups across the country. As of this morning, just one of the blockades that have appeared over the last three weeks is reported to remain in place. In a […]
AAR weekly traffic round-up for the week of Feb. 26, 2020 NEWSWIRE
Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Feb. 22, 2020. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 482,690 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.6% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending Feb. 22 were […]
Buffett says BNSF has improved profitability without adopting PSR NEWSWIRE
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett runs a BNSF Railway model train as BNSF CEO Carl R. Ice, right, looks on during Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Neb., in 2019. BNSF Railway OMAHA, Neb. — BNSF Railway has improved its profit margins without having to adopt Precision Scheduled Railroading, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett […]
BNSF Railway reports higher profits for 2019 and fourth quarter NEWSWIRE
A BNSF Railway baretable train ascends Tehachapi Loop in California in September 2019. Bill Stephens FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway’s profits rose last year as rate increases and cost controls overcame the impact of a volume slump and unusually harsh weather that included historic flooding in the Midwest. BNSF announced its financial results on […]
Arrests reported at Ontario rail blockade site (updated) NEWSWIRE
News reports say several people were arrested Monday at a rail blockade near Belleville, Ontario, after protesters ignored a midnight deadline to clear the site, the first in a series of locations where rail service has been disrupted across Canada. New blockades appeared elsewhere over the weekend. Some VIA Rail Canada and commuter rail service […]
Unions vow to act together after railroads score court win on crew-size negotiations NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON D.C. — A federal judge has decided that crew size will be part of the debate during the upcoming round of national bargaining set to begin this week, and unions say they will work together to protect two-person crews. Late last year, eight major freight railroads filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in […]