WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has ordered Canadian National and Canadian Pacific to participate in oral arguments next month to settle their simmering dispute over the location of their interchange in Chicago. In a decision late Friday, the board directed CN and CP to participate in an Aug. 6 oral argument in Washington. The […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Kansas City Southern reports record results but lowers volume outlook NEWSWIRE
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern reported record second quarter financial results today but reduced its volume outlook for the year and said it would trim capital spending as Precision Scheduled Railroading was freeing up capacity on its network. The railroad’s adjusted operating income rose 5%, to $259 million, as revenue rose 5%, to […]
ASK TRAINS: How do you operate two steam locomotives together?
On West Virginia’s Cass Scenic Railroad, engine crews with three Shay locomotives signal each other with whistles for moves and stops. TRAINS: Steve Sweeney Q: When you have two steam engines together, how does the second engineer know how much throttle to give? — Dennis E. Schardt, Sr., Summerdale, Pa. A: We get asked this […]
Ask Trains: Maps that show train frequencies
Q: Do you know if any publications, or any web pages, blogs, or any Internet resource that maintains a U.S. map that shows frequency of train service? — Frank Norris, Santa Fe, N.M. A: Simply put, no such resource exists as railroads hold traffic data as proprietary. The best way to learn about railroad operations, […]
JB Hunt executives optimistic on intermodal volumes; precision scheduled railroading NEWSWIRE
LOWELL, Ark. — Executives of trucking giant J.B. Hunt are moderately optimistic about intermodal for the second half of 2019 and about the effects of Precision Scheduled Railroading on Hunt operations. Intermodal, which makes up more than 50 percent of Hunt revenues, had a difficult first half of 2019, due to PSR-driven lane closures in […]
Union Pacific posts record quarterly results despite volume declines, flooding NEWSWIRE
OMAHA, Neb. — Cost-cutting, efficiency gains, and higher revenue per carload helped Union Pacific post record second quarter financial results despite declines in traffic and revenue and the impact of flooding that shut down key routes in the Midwest. The railroad’s operating income rose 8%, to $2.2 billion, even as revenue declined 1%, to $5.5 […]
AAR: Weekly carload traffic sinks 4%; intermodal more than 7% NEWSWIRE
Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending July 13. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 527,908 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.6% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending July 13 were 260,762 […]
CSX Transportation reduces full-year revenue outlook as volume declines NEWSWIRE
James Foote, CSX Corp. CEO CSX Corp. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation reduced its full-year revenue outlook on Tuesday after revenue and traffic volumes came in lower than expected for the second quarter. The railroad, which had been projecting low single-digit revenue growth, now expects revenue to decline by 1% to 2% this year. CSX […]
Canadian Pacific reports record quarterly results, maintains positive outlook NEWSWIRE
CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific reported record quarterly earnings and revenue today as the railway carried record volumes and led the industry in traffic growth. CP’s operating income jumped 31%, to $822 million, as revenue surged 13%, to nearly $2 billion. CP reported earnings per share, adjusted for one-time items, of $4.36, a 36% increase […]
Squires ‘pleased’ with NS operations changes NEWSWIRE
James Squires, NS CEO Norfolk Southern LAKE GENEVA, Wis. — Norfolk Southern is looking ahead with its newly implemented TOP21 operations plan, in use now for less than a month. The comments come from NS CEO James Squires at the summer meeting of the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers at the Grand Geneva Resort. “I think […]
Wall Street expects higher Class I railroad earnings despite U.S. traffic slump NEWSWIRE
Class I railroads will announce their second quarter earnings results over the next two weeks against a backdrop of declining traffic in the U.S. and indications that economic growth is slowing. But a combination of rate increases, efficiency gains, cost-cutting, and share buyback programs is expected to offset the impact of traffic volume declines at […]
Railroads begin restoring Mid-South service after ‘Barry’ barrels through Louisiana and Arkansas NEWSWIRE
NEW ORLEANS — Rail operations along the U.S. Gulf Coast were returning somewhat to normal Monday as Tropical Storm Barry — now a tropical depression — moved north into Arkansas and was expected to go in the general direction of St. Louis. The New Orleans Public Belt Railroad started three switching jobs late Sunday and […]