CHICAGO — Partners in the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency, or CREATE, Program, on Monday announced $200,000 in donations for 2024-25 as part of their ongoing commitment to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math programs, an element of the 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project. This year’s funding, announced at Englewood STEM High School, went to […]
CHICAGO — Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman has joined the list of speakers scheduled to appear at the North American Rail Shippers Conference, beginning tomorrow, April 30, and running through May 2 in Chicago. Oberman last week announced he would retire from the STB chairmanship on May 10 [see “STB’s Oberman sets May […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific today took the wraps of its first mother-slug set of hybrid switching locomotives that can run on diesel fuel or batteries. The units, SD40-2 slug set UPY No. 409 and UPY No. 309, were converted at the railroad’s Jenks Locomotive Shop in North Little Rock, Ark., and will begin testing […]
Norfolk Southern says activist investor Ancora Holdings violated the Railway Labor Act when it negotiated a deal with the general chairmen of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen in exchange for the union’s support in its proxy campaign. The BLET in February was vehemently opposed to Ancora’s plan to oust Norfolk Southern’s management and […]
PORTLAND, Ore. — A Union Pacific train derailed early this morning at the east end of Portland’s historic Steel Bridge, closing the heavily used bridge while authorities assessed its structural integrity. The derailment also meant the vertical lift portion of the bridge could not be raised, impacting ship traffic on the Willamette River. “The issue […]
PRESCOTT, Kan. — It’s been a rough few days for BNSF Railway. In the latest incident, the railroad advised customers today (Monday, April 29) of a washout that occurred Sunday afternoon near Prescott, Kan., on its Fort Scott Subdivision. In an updated report, BNSF announced the line had been reopened at 2:15 p.m. CT. Prescott […]
LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — Missouri River Runner service has been canceled today, the second day of cancellations because of a Union Pacific derailment early Sunday near Kansas City, according to the Amtrak Alerts feed on social media site X. The through Lincoln Service/Missouri River Runner trains that operate between Chicago and Kansas City are originating […]
In a significant boost to activist investor Ancora Holdings, one of the two major proxy advisory firms has recommended that Norfolk Southern shareholders vote in favor of six of its seven dissident board candidates. Glass Lewis made the recommendation in a report issued on Sunday, which concludes that Ancora has made a compelling case that […]
MOLINE, Ill. — Among the 69 projects receiving Federal Railroad Administration Corridor Identification and Development Program grants last December was a familiar route: Chicago-Quad Cities. Familiar because that route, in addition to being among the recipients of the $500,000 Corridor ID grant [see “Full list of passenger routes …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 8, 2023], […]
NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will begin assessing congestion pricing tolls — the fee for vehicles entering Manhattan below 60th Street, which will be used to fund transit projects — on Sunday, June 30, the agency has announced. Meanwhile, the news site amNY.com reports that, in concert with the start of the pricing […]
Industry observers had wondered why the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen — which had vehemently opposed an activist investor’s plans to oust Norfolk Southern’s management team — flip-flopped on Friday and decided to support Ancora Holdings’ calls for change at the railroad. The reason became apparent on Sunday, when the SMART-TD union that represents […]
LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — The engineer and conductor of a Union Pacific train were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries following a derailment early this morning, the Lee’s Summit Fire Department reports. The fire department responded to a call at approximately 12:45 a.m. of a derailment in the Unity Village area between Rhinehart […]
