WASHINGTON — Traffic figures suppressed by winter weather in February 2021 skewed year-to-year comparisons for U.S. rail traffic in February 2022 statistics released by the Association of American Railroads. In the month just ended, U.S. railroads originated 915,320 carloads, an 11% increase over 2021, while the 1,030,317 containers and trailers represented a 1.4% increase. Overall […]
WASHINGTON — BNSF Railway has urged federal regulators to take steps to protect cross-border traffic to and from Mexico as part of any approval of the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger. But BNSF dropped its plan to pursue trackage rights over KCS to the Laredo, Texas, gateway in its Monday regulatory filing, which was […]
WASHINGTON — Norfolk Southern sees the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger as a threat to its Meridian Speedway intermodal traffic. NS announced its intention to protect its Meridian Speedway traffic in a pair of Monday regulatory filings posted to the Surface Transportation Board website on Tuesday. NS may exercise its option to purchase the KCS-served […]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mid-America Car of Kansas City has completed the cosmetic restoration of former Santa Fe SD45-2 No. 5704 — donated to the Southern California Railroad Museum in Perris, Calif., in 2021 — to the eye-catching bicentennial paint scheme it wore in the mid-1970s. Mid-America’s craftsmen took several months to recreate the appearance […]
We put the Bowser HO scale Alco RS-3 diesel locomotive to work on Model Railroader’s HO scale Wisconsin & Southern layout. […]
PHILADELPHIA — The defense suffered a significant setback in the trial of Amtrak engineer Brandon Bostian on Tuesday, with Common Pleas Court Judge Barbara McDermott ruling the jury would not be allowed to hear any testimony regarding automatic train control. KYW-TV reports the defense had planned to argue that Amtrak was at fault in the […]
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah bill which would require Union Pacific to use less-polluting locomotives in a Salt Lake City yard has been placed on hold at the request of the legislation’s sponsor, who says there have been “productive” conversations with the railroad. The Deseret News reports state Rep. Mike Schultz, the House majority […]
MISSOULA, Mont. — Montana Rail Link plans to retain several branch lines that are not part of the lease agreement with BNSF Railway that it is ending, but has no plans to operate those lines, a company spokesman said recently. KPAX-TV reports that spokeman Jon Bennion told a recent meeting of the Big Sky Passenger […]
DEL MAR, Calif. — The City of Del Mar’s opposition to safety fencing along the rail line traversing the Del Mar Bluffs is likely to result in a larger fence than might otherwise have been the case. The San Diego Reader reports that on Monday, Feb. 28 — the deadline for the city to reach […]
JOPLIN, Mo. — The Missouri Eastern Railway, a new subsidiary of transportation company Jaguar Transport Holdings, began operation Tuesday, March 1, in the St. Louis area. In January, the company acquired 42 miles of track between St. Louis and Union, Mo., previously operated by Progressive Rail’s Central Midland Railway. In February, it acquired leasehold rights […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has announced its upcoming hearing on proposed reciprocal switching regulations will be held online, via Zoom, and will be available for public viewing on YouTube. The hearing is set to be held March 15-16, with proceedings beginning at 9:30 a.m. EST each day. It will be shown on the […]
WASHINGTON — Union Pacific has asked federal regulators to ensure that a merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern does not undermine competition at the Laredo, Texas, gateway. Laredo, the most important Mexico border crossing, is where UP interchanges with KCS de Mexico and stands to lose traffic to the combined Canadian Pacific Kansas […]
