The Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors approved closing the Bull Run Fossil Plant at Oak Ridge, Tenn., and the Paradise Fossil Plant Unit 3 in Western Kentucky on Feb. 14, 2019. Chattanooga, TENN. — A major Tennessee utility provider has approved closing two rail-served, coal-fired power plants, alluding to a changing landscape in electricity […]
Train Topic: Railroad Operations
BNSF Railway announces billion-dollar capital spending plan for 2019 NEWSWIRE
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway today announced its 2019 capital investment plan of $3.57 billion. The emphasis of this year’s capital plan continues to be on maintaining and expanding its network with an unwavering focus on operating a safe railroad that meets customers’ demands. “Our rail network is in excellent shape and its condition […]
Local service and terminal operations underpin new NS operating plan NEWSWIRE
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern is taking a two-pronged approach to operational changes as it adopts Precision Scheduled Railroading. First, it’s redesigning local service from scratch using a process that it has dubbed clean-sheeting. Second, NS will begin making systemwide operating changes that affect road trains once the first round of clean-sheeting is completed in June. […]
New Norfolk Southern operating plan to blend traffic and build longer trains NEWSWIRE
Norfolk Southern CEO Jim Squires Norfolk Southern ATLANTA — Expect to see big changes on Norfolk Southern as the railroad launches its new Precision Scheduled Railroading operating plan, TOP21, over the summer. The most visible differences will include longer trains with distributed power, the increased use of general purpose trains that combine different types of […]
Norfolk Southern shoots for 60 percent operating ratio target under PSR NEWSWIRE
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern’s embrace of Precision Scheduled Railroading will put the railroad’s operational house in order and improve financial results, including a 60-percent operating ratio by 2021. “We decided to adopt Precision Scheduled Railroading because it works,” Norfolk Southern CEO Jim Squires said in kicking off the railroad’s investor day presentations on Monday. NS […]
FRA announces $56 million in rail improvement grants NEWSWIRE
A Brightline train streaks through Delray Beach, Fla. FRA grants announced Friday include more than $2 million for grade-crossing improvements on Brightline’s route. TRAINS: David Lassen WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has announced more than $56 million in grants, covering 18 projects in 16 states, to improve rail safety, efficiency, and reliability through the […]
KCS names Sameh Fahmy executive vice president for Precision Scheduled Railroading NEWSWIRE
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City Southern has named Sameh Fahmy to the position of executive vice president for Precision Scheduled Railroading. He will report to KCS President and CEO Patrick J. Ottensmeyer. “I am very pleased to announce that Sameh will lead the implementation of principals of the Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) methodology that […]
Posner Foundation grant supports Operation Lifesaver efforts NEWSWIRE
WASHINGTON — Operation Lifesaver, Inc. has announced what it describes as “a generous donation” from the Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh. The undisclosed amount will support four projects. The grant will fund suicide prevention messages in communities identified by the Federal Railroad Administration’s Trespass and Suicide Dashboard that shows locations and trends in fatalities along railroad […]
AAR: Crude oil, ‘other’ carloads lone holdouts in second week of railroad traffic plunge in the US NEWSWIRE
Association of American Railroads Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Feb. 2, as well as volumes for January 2019. U.S. railroads originated 1,238,487 carloads in January 2019, up 1.7 percent, or 21,054 carloads, from January 2018. U.S. railroads also originated 1,316,168 […]
Amazon as a common carrier, just like railroads NEWSWIRE
Speculation grows about Amazon’s increasing role as a freight carrier and what that may mean for suppliers of transportation services by air, truck, water, and perhaps eventually by rail. Since what has been termed the “2013 Christmas Fiasco” in which United Parcel Service failed to deliver Amazon packages before Christmas Day, Amazon has been assuming […]
US ports continue expanding rail facilities to support growing traffic NEWSWIRE
Garden City Terminal rail yard, Savannah, Ga. Georgia Ports Authority Increased U.S. port expansions include substantial development of rail infrastructure, among them intermodal projects at ports on both coasts, the Gulf of Mexico, and on inland waterways. With the enlarged Panama Canal available since 2016, eastern ports have been upgrading to lure Pacific ship traffic […]
AAR: Traffic plunges for the week of Jan. 26 compared with the same week in 2018 NEWSWIRE
Association of American Railroads Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads recently reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Jan. 26. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 522,026 carloads and intermodal units, down 4 percent compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week […]