The rail industry has long touted its energy efficiency compared to other modes of transport, as well as the parallel environmental benefits. But with railroads and their customers both placing more focus on combating climate change, an increasing number of projects are under way to develop alternatives to diesel-electric locomotives. Making the most progress to […]
CICERO, Ill. — The back and forth between the Chicago suburb of Cicero and BNSF railway, the town’s largest landowner, over flooding and taxation continues. The Chicago Tribune reports a state legislator is seeking to pass legislation aimed at the railroad over what the town says is neighborhood flooding caused by pavement and work to […]
CHICAGO — BNSF Railway has agreed to reimburse the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for part of the costs of the cleanup at the site of a metal foundry in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. The Chicago Sun-Times reports H. Kramer & Co., which operates the brass and bronze foundry; BNSF; and the City of Chicago will share […]
Few years pass without railroads facing disruptions from natural disasters. This year was no different, with events including flooding that caused a Union Pacific derailment in Utah in July, Hurricane Ida hitting rail operations from New Orleans to New England in August; and devastating tornadoes in December, including one that derailed a CSX train. But […]
SEATTLE — A 28-year-old Bellingham, Wash., woman has been sentenced to a year in prison after being convicted earlier this year for using a shunt to disrupt signals on a BNSF Railway line in Bellingham. Ellen Brennan Reiche, 28, also was given three years of supervised probation and 100 hours of community service in sentencing […]
Do railroad mergers live up to the hype? It’s a question that’s been rattling around in my head as federal regulators review the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger, the first between Class I railroads in two decades. First, the projections. Within three years of the merger, Canadian Pacific Kansas City expects to gain 80,000 carloads […]
OMAHA, Neb. — BNSF will pay a $1.5 million settlement to the Environmental Protection Agency over a 2018 derailment that led to an Iowa oil spill, the Associated Press reports. About 160,000 gallons of oil reached floodwaters near Doon, Iowa, in June 2018 after heavy rains washed out a BNSF line and flooded the Little […]
ENID, Okla. — High winds are being cited as the cause of a derailment of a BNSF Railway intermodal train near Enid on Wednesday. KWTV reports the accident occurred about 1 p.m., and reports 21 cars carrying a total of 32 containers derailed. No injuries were reported and the cause is under investigation. The Weather […]
GREAT FALLS, Mont. — An Amtrak on-board service attendant injured in September’s derailment of the Empire Builder has become the latest to file suit over the accident. The Billings Gazette reports Tarrick Peyton filed suit in U.S. District Court in Great Falls against Amtrak and BNSF Railway for negligence in the Sept. 25 accident that killed […]
BNSF Railway will join Caterpillar and Chevron in a hydrogen fuel-cell locomotive demonstration project, the three companies have announced, seeking to show hydrogen is a viable alternative fuel source for line-haul rail. The companies have announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding and are working toward definitive agreements in which Progress Rail will build […]
Union Pacific, BNSF Railway, and Norfolk Southern say they have suspended their COVID-19 vaccination mandate following a Tuesday ruling by a federal judge blocked the Biden Administration’s executive order requiring vaccination for federal contractors. Reuters reports that UP said 74% of its 31,000 employees were fully vaccinated as of Dec. 8, and that was still […]
CLEVELAND — Two major rail unions are seeking preliminary injunctions against BNSF Railway and Chicago’s Metra to block vaccination mandates and require negotiations over the issue. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) announced the filings Dec. 3. In a joint statement, […]
