WASHINGTON — In a rare occurrence for 2022, U.S. freight rail traffic for the week ending Aug. 20 was up over the same week a year ago — albeit by the barest of margins. According to statistics from the Association of American Railroads, traffic for the week was 501,548 carloads and intermodal units — an […]
LOS ANGELES — Mechanical issues that have taken 19 of its 55 locomotives out of service have led commuter rail operator Metrolink to reduce service on three of its routes this week. The cancellations began Tuesday, Aug. 23, and cover one round trip on each line. After initially being announced as extending until further notice, […]
BREMERVORDE, Germany — Germany’s pioneering hydrogen-fuel-cell powered passenger trains have achieved the next step in their launch, fully handling service on their Cuxhaven-Bremervörde-Butexhude route as of today. Alstom, manufacturer of the 14 Coradia iLint trainsets, called the 100% hydrogen operation of the route a “historical milestone” in a press release. The trains had begun operation […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway executives have thanked customers for their patience regarding the limited embargo on carload traffic bound for California that began on June 27 and is now set to expire next month. “Beginning Monday, Sept. 5, shipments may move into California without a permit. We recognize the embargo has led to […]
BETHESDA, Md. — Work on Maryland’s long-delayed Purple Line light rail project should resume in earnest after Labor Day, WTOP radio reports. Laborers’ International Union of North America has signed a collective bargaining agreement with Maryland Transit Solutions, the new contractor set to finish the line, with the union’s business manager, Steve Lanning, telling the […]
KEYTESVILLE, Mo. — A Missouri circuit court judge has denied requests to delay lawsuits over the June derailment of Amtrak’s Southwest Chief while the National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the accident remains active. KOMU-TV reports Judge Terry Tschannen ruled Monday that, while certain information may not be disclosed while the NTSB is investigating, the […]
PARSONS, Kan. — Watco will become the rail operator for the Great Plains Industrial Park in Parsons, a 6,800-acre facility with more than 26 miles of rail line, following the transportation company’s selection by the Great Plaines Development Authority. Watco will provide switching, transload, warehouse, material handling, truck, and logistics services for rail and non-rail […]
TULSA, Okla. — OmniTRAX has been named excusive rail partner for the Tulsa Port of Catoosa, an inland port which provides barge access to the central U.S. The long-term agreement became effective Aug. 18. The new Port of Catoosa Industrial Railroad becomes the second OmniTRAX property in Oklahoma, and in the Tulsa area, joining the […]
BOSTON — The Boston area’s first weekday commute since the shutdown of the rapid transit Orange Line went relatively smoothly Monday, according to news reports, with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority gearing up repair work along the 11-mile line that will be closed for 30 days. Boston.com reports that MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak, in […]
KINGSPORT, Tenn. — For the third year in a row, the CSX Santa Train, a legacy of predecessor Clinchfield Railroad, will be sidelined — this time because of staffing and supply-chain issues. The Kingsport Times News reports the 110-mile trip from Kentucky to Kingsport will miss what would have been its 80th anniversary edition. As […]
CHICAGO — Railroads have an advantage over trucks when customers’ shipments have to travel a great distance. Long-haul business is preferred by railroads, aligning with the industry’s focus of moving carloads across the network as efficiently as possible on fewer, longer trains. Shorter moves require the same amount of switching, but don’t necessarily produce the […]
MILWAUKEE — The state of Wisconsin has filed a brief document with the Federal Transit Administration in support of a private corporation’s plan to provide commuter rail service between Milwaukee and Kenosha, Wis. — a long-discussed but moribund project dating to 1998. The two-page “Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee Commuter Rail Project Development Profile” was filed by the Wisconsin […]
