NEW ORLEANS — Railroads in the New Orleans area continued to initiate contingency plans due to the threat of Tropical Storm Barry. BNSF Railway officials said Thursday that they were holding all New Orleans-bound trains from moving into the area. “Our operations teams are working with other carriers to identify alternate gateways unaffected by this […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
Freight railroads diverting traffic from oncoming tropical storm NEWSWIRE
NEW ORLEANS — The threat of Tropical Storm Barry striking Louisiana as a hurricane by the weekend has already begun to disrupt rail service. Because the Flood Protection Authority in New Orleans closed flood gates, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are rerouting New Orleans traffic and UP officials say they have suspended interchange with eastern […]
AAR releases carload and intermodal traffic for the week of July 6, 2019 NEWSWIRE
Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending July 6. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 448,459 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.5% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending July 6 were 220,759 […]
BNSF Railway opens new intermodal terminal in Southern California NEWSWIRE
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway opened its new intermodal terminal in Barstow, Calif., this week for premium container service between Southern California and Chicago. The $27 million terminal includes two production tracks totaling 6,600 feet, two lifts, and 640 paved parking spaces, BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent says. Service is provided five days a week. […]
‘Bomb Trains’ book offers to reveal flaws in how railroads move crude oil
ALBANY, N.Y. — A new book promises to “lay out the whole damning history” of moving crude oil by railroad, starting with the tragic wreck and inferno at Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, on July 6, 2013. The book is “Bomb Trains: How Industry Greed and Regulatory Failure Put the Public at Risk” by Justin Mikulka. Mikulka says […]
NRC names Wieland as president NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON — Ashley Wieland has been named as the new president of the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association. Wieland, who had previously worked for the NRC in several capacities, was most recently director of state government relations for the American Traffic Safety Services Association. “I’m thrilled to be back with the NRC and honored […]
Canadian Pacific outpaces other Class I railroads in quarterly traffic growth NEWSWIRE
Canadian Pacific was the clear winner in second quarter traffic growth among the big six Class I railroad systems. CP carried 6% more carloads in the quarter, led by double-digit gains in its potash, forest products, and energy, chemicals and plastics business segments. The only CP traffic segments not to grow were coal, which was […]
Former FRA official Ken Lawson passes at 90 NEWSWIRE
BLUEMONT, Va. — Well-known Federal Railroad official Ken Lawson passed away at home in Bluemont on June 19, 2019. He was 90. Born in Chicago in 1928, Ken graduated from Northwestern University in 1951 with a degree in electrical engineering. He served as a gunnery officer on the U.S.S. Healy during the Korean Conflict. Following […]
‘Precision railroading’ helped railroads ‘do well’ in the eyes of logistics managers, report says NEWSWIRE
E. Hunter Harrison, in this Canadian Pacific file photo, is credited with popularizing Precision Scheduled Railroading. Railroads that use the operations method are perceived as doing well according to a report from a logistics managers organization. CP LOMBARD, Ill. — Precision Scheduled Railroading is helping to lift shippers opinions of railroads according to the recently […]
Trucking company signs up for new CSX intermodal services NEWSWIRE
INDIANAPOLIS — Truckload and intermodal carrier Schneider has begun Midwest-to-East Coast intermodal service from the CSX Transportation Indianapolis ramp. The new service is designed to serve shippers in central and southern Indiana, Cincinnati, and Louisville, Ky. Eastbound traffic moves six days per week from Indianapolis to North Bergen, N.J., and Worchester, Mass., with two- to […]
AAR: Carload and intermodal traffic volumes sink in June NEWSWIRE
Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending June 29, as well as volumes for June 2019. U.S. railroads originated 1,023,394 carloads in June 2019, down 5.3%, or 57,173 carloads, from June 2018. U.S. railroads also originated 1,075,974 containers and trailers in June […]
West Virginia intermodal terminal may close or be sold NEWSWIRE
CHARLESTON, W.V. — The West Virginia Port Authority is moving forward to find a lessee for one of the state’s intermodal facilities in anticipation of possibly auctioning the facility off or selling it. At a meeting Tuesday, the West Virginia Port Authority Board of Directors unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the board chairman to begin […]