NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit has asked President Joe Biden to form a Presidential Emergency Board to address a potential strike or lockout involving members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, NJ.com reports, delaying any potential job action. A union official and NJ Transit spokesman both confirmed the request to NJ Advance Media. […]
Section: News Wire
DART restores light rail service in central Dallas (updated)
DALLAS — Dallas Area Rapid Transit restored light rail service in Dallas’ central business district at midday today (July 24), beating an estimate calling for service to resume this evening. DART resumed rail service at 1 p.m., continuing the shuttle bus service that had been in place to serve six stations until 2 p.m. while […]
Railroads are hiring in MOW, mechanical, but headcount is down from 2019: Analysis
Second of two parts. Part one is available here. CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. railroads are hiring to meet future freight demand after years of furloughs and cutbacks that only worsened during the pandemic. At the same time, railroads have grappled with steep declines in coal and macroeconomic conditions. Now railroads appear to be rebalancing headcount […]
House rail safety hearing highlights new legislation
WASHINGTON — Legislators used a House subcommittee hearing on railroad safety today (Tuesday, July 23) to highlight a new rail safety bill, while committee members and witnesses including regulators, union representatives, and the House member representing East Palestine questioned the rail industry’s own safety efforts. The revised bill, the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act (H.R. 8996), […]
Threat of Canadian rail strike hurts Canadian National’s quarterly earnings
MONTREAL — Canadian National today (Tuesday, July 23) lowered its financial outlook for the year as volume growth slowed during the second quarter, due to slumping lumber traffic and the impact of shippers diverting international intermodal containers to U.S. ports in anticipation of a potential rail strike in Canada. CN’s second-quarter operating income declined 3%, […]
CSX unveils heritage locomotive celebrating Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad
CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs today unveiled the railroad’s 17th heritage locomotive, which pays homage to the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad. “Another great job by our ONE CSX team in Waycross, Georgia. Founded in 1877, C&EI Railroad connected Chicago with southern Illinois, St. Louis, and Evansville, IN. In the 1960’s C&EI was purchased by both […]
Wildfire shuts down CN main line through Jasper, Alberta (updated)
MONTREAL – The busiest section of the Canadian National main line is shut down today due to a fast-moving wildfire in Jasper, Alberta. Officials ordered an evacuation of Jasper as well as visitors to Jasper National Park overnight as the fire spread and left only a westbound escape route out of town, according to Canada’s […]
MxV Rail first responder training center expands to include scenarios involving alternative fuels and electric vehicles
PUEBLO, Colo. — MxV Rail’s Security and Emergency Response Training Center is expanding to include first responder training for incidents involving alternative fuels and electric vehicles. SERTC will begin offering the new training in November thanks to funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, MxV Rail announced on Monday. SERTC recently broke ground on a […]
Dallas light rail repairs to take until at least Wednesday evening
DALLAS — Repairs to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit light rail system in downtown Dallas will continue until at least the evening of Wednesday, July 24, following a Sunday morning accident, the transit agency said Monday. The light rail system lost power the central business district after a Dallas Fire Rescue truck skidded off an […]
T&E headcount is up from a year ago, but below 2019 as railroads dial in performance, growth: Analysis
First of two parts. CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Navigating macroeconomic headwinds and steep declines in coal, three of the big four U.S. railroads now employ more engineers and conductors than they did a year ago, but headcount is still mostly below pre-pandemic 2019. Railroads are =using new hires to improve service performance and grow future business […]
Locomotive derails, destroys garage — for the second time
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — Apparently, trains vs. garages is the latest trend in derailments. A CSX locomotive overran the end of a wye at the railroad’s Niagara Falls Yard, derailed, and leveled a brick garage on Monday, July 22, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reports, spilling up to 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel. It was […]
CN fined C$8 million over spills from 2015 derailments
TIMMONS, Ontario — Canadian National Railway must pay C$8 million in fines as a result of oil spills stemming from a pair of 2015 derailments in Northern Ontario, a Canadian court has ruled. The CBC reports that the Ontario Court of Justice ordered the fines for environmental violations stemming from a Feb. 14, 2015, derailment […]