SALT LAKE CITY — The company planning to build Uinta Basin Railway will seek $1.9 billion in private activity bonds to help finance construction of the 88-mile railroad in Utah, with the help of the government agency supporting the project, the Colorado Sun news site reports. Those funds would cover 70% of the cost of […]
OMAHA, Neb. — A hedge fund, arguing that Union Pacific ranks dead last in every important operating metric, has asked the railroad’s board of directors to replace current CEO Lance Fritz with former Chief Operating Officer Jim Vena. Soroban Capital, which has a $1.6 billion stake in UP and ranks among its top 10 investors, […]
DES LACS, N.D. — BNSF’s main line across North Dakota was fully reopened Saturday evening after a Friday morning derailment, the railroad says in a customer advisory. One track of the main line near Des Lacs, about 14 miles west of Minot, N.D., reopened on Saturday at 5:25 a.m. CST; the second track reopened at […]
In every issue News p. 4 Union Pacific to test new role for conductors, and Amtrak’s fresh look for corridor trains Preservation p. 38 Saving historic New York Central locomotives, plus an update on Canadian National No. 6060 Train-Watching p. 42 Hot spot: Fort Madison, Iowa. Ask Trains p. 44 How DPU locomotives communicate, and […]
PHILADELPHIA — The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has awarded a $125 million contract for the final design phase of the King of Prussia Rail project. SEPTA awarded the contract to HNTB Corp. at its Feb. 23 board meeting. The project will add a 4-mile, five-station spur to the Norristown High Speed Line near its northern […]
OMAHA, Neb. — BNSF Railway’s pre-tax earnings declined 1.9% in 2022 due to a combination of lower volume and higher costs, the railroad’s parent company, Berkshire Hathaway, reported on Saturday. BNSF’s revenue was up 11.9% for the year, to $25.2 billion, reflecting an 18.9% increase in average revenue per car/unit, including the impact from higher […]
WASHINGTON — In their latest bid to delay the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, four members of the Illinois congressional delegation have cited the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment as a reason the Surface Transportation Board should subject the merger to further review. In a letter to STB Chairman Martin J. Oberman dated Thursday, Feb. 23, […]
MINOT, N.D. — BNSF’s northern transcontinental main line is currently blocked after an early-morning derailment of an intermodal train near Des Lacs, N.D., approximately 14 miles west of Minot. A customer advisory on the BNSF website says the derailment occurred about 3:36 a.m. CDT today (Friday, Feb. 24). The Dakotan website quotes Karter Lesmann, chief […]
Major 2020s steam locomotive restorations (so far!) will take a look at five locomotives that returned to service in the early part of the decade. Even in these challenging times, the restoration efforts show no signs of slowing down. Check out our list: U.S. Sugar No. 148 Restoration completed in 2020: Built in April 1920 […]
Major 2010s steam locomotive restorations will take a look at five revived locomotives you have to know about. While preserved rail equipment is tweaked and repaired all the time, it is a rare event when a steam locomotive is overhauled and returned to service. Check out our list: Southern Railway No. 4501 Restoration completed in […]
MIAMI, Fla. — CSX Transportation must rely on volume growth – not cost cutting – to boost profits and earnings over the long term, CEO Joe Hinrichs told an investor conference this week. “There’s only so much more you can squeeze out of the operating side of this business,” Hinrichs says. The CSX CEO’s remarks […]
MADRID — Spain’s transportation secretary and the head of national rail operator RENFE have resigned following an order for new regional trains that has become a national scandal. Transportation Secretary Isabel Pardo de Vera and RENFE President Isaías Táboas quit their jobs Feb. 20 in the wake of public and political criticism of a delayed […]
