Operational improvements propel Norfolk Southern’s second-quarter results

Predominantly red and black Norfolk Southern locomotive on turntable

ATLANTA – Operational improvements helped Norfolk Southern win back service-sensitive intermodal and automotive traffic while driving down costs and boosting the railroad’s profitability in the second quarter. “While our work continues, our second-quarter results represent an encouraging inflection point in our operating performance,” CEO Alan Shaw said on the railroad’s earnings call on Thursday afternoon. […]

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Hitachi Rail to build 200 new cars for SEPTA’s Market-Frankford Line

Illustration of rapid-transit car at speed

PHILADELPHIA — The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority today awarded a contract to Hitachi Rail for 200 new railcars for its Market-Frankford Line rapid-transit fleet. The contract is worth $724.3 million, not including an option for up to 40 additional cars. Delivery of the cars is scheduled to begin in 2029 with completion by the end […]

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Presidential Emergency Board named for NJ Transit-BLET dispute

Large number of passengers wait on platform for arriving train

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has named a three-member Presidential Emergency Board to address the labor dispute between NJ Transit and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. Biden established the board in an executive order released Wednesday and effective today (July 25). An accompanying statement notes that appointment of the board is required under […]

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Paris expands rail system in time for the Olympics

White tram-style train on mainline railroad

PARIS — The French capital hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer, its third turn as host and first in a century. The Opening Ceremony this Friday, July 26, will be held beside the River Seine in the center of the city, with events running through to the end of the Paralympics on Sept. […]

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NJ Transit orders 36 new EMU railcars from Alstom

Illustration of bilevel railcar

NEWARK, N.J. — The NJ Transit board of directors on Wednesday approved the purchase of 36 Multilevel III electric multiple-unit railcars from Alstom Transportation, increasing to 174 the number of the new railcars ordered since 2018. The order is part of an option of an existing contract with Alstom, at a cost not to exceed […]

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Cars involved in Fredericksburg derailment were runaways

Derailed freight cars at night

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — Last Saturday’s derailment of CSX railcars that damaged garages at a Fredericksburg apartment complex involved runaways, a CSX representative said at a community meeting on Wednesday, July 24. “One section of the train was tied down improperly,” CSX State Relations Director Randy Marcus told the meeting, according to a WUSA-TV report. Those […]

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Weekly U.S. rail traffic remains up slightly

Weekly table showing U.S. carload rail traffic by commodity type, plus overall intermodal volume

WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic was again ahead of 2023 levels for the week ending July 20, 2024, with overall volume up 1.4% compared to the same week last year, according to statistics from the Association of American Railroads. Railroads handled 480,083 carloads and intermodal units. That included 214,348 carloads, a 3.4% decrease from the […]

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