WASHINGTON — Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern have vastly overestimated traffic and revenue growth that would flow from their proposed combination, making the rest of their merger application a house of cards, Canadian National claims in a regulatory filing. The CP-KCS merger application is so “riddled with errors” that the Surface Transportation Board should not […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has granted CSX Transportation’s request to delay the hearing on Amtrak Gulf Coast service, which was unopposed by Amtrak and the other parties to the case. The evidentiary hearing, which had been scheduled to begin March 9, will now be held April 4-5, with April 6 and April 8 […]
WASHINGTON — A coalition of Chicago suburbs says it would cost between $5.5 billion and $9.5 billion to mitigate the impact of the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger on their communities. That’s more than the entire price tag of the CREATE program, which aims to spend $4.6 billion on 70 rail improvement projects across the […]
WASHINGTON — Two unions involved in the negotiations for a new national rail labor contract have asked to be released from mediation with the coalition representing railroads, instead requesting to move to arbitration. In a letter dated Feb. 23, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the Teamsters Rail Conference, and the […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF will increase capital spending to $3.55 billion in 2022, after a spend of $2.97 billion in 2021, the railroad reported in its fourth-quarter financial summary. Of that $3.55 billion, $2.71 billion is budgeted for maintenance and replacement, including 14,000 miles of track surfacing or undercutting; replacement of 381 miles of […]
GATINEAU, Quebec — Rail accidents increased in Canada in 2021, while still remaining below the five-year average for such incidents, according to preliminary statistics released Monday by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Air transportation and pipelines also saw increases, while marine accidents decreased. The TSB suggested in a press release that the increases likely […]
HOUGHTON, Mich. — Applications are now being accepted for the Tracks to the Future Summer Program, which offers high school students a chance to learn about rail transportation and engineering, and why it could be an inviting career choice. Michigan Tech University, Penn State-Altoona, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are combining for the […]
CHICAGO — BNSF Railway is working to recover from intermodal service issues in the Chicago area stemming from weather and construction impacts, the railroad informed customers on Friday. The Corwith, Cicero, Wilow Springs, and Logistic Park Chicago facilities were hit by blizzard conditions Feb. 17-18, leading to major road closures and “reduced productivity at intermodal […]
MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — South Shore Line commuter train No. 106, the 5:45 a.m. departure from Carroll Avenue station in Michigan City, Ind., makes its way down 11th Street at Franklin Street on Monday morning, Feb. 28, 2022, en route to a scheduled 7:13 a.m. arrival at Chicago’s Millennium Station. The train was the last […]
CUMBERLAND, Md. — Western Maryland Scenic Railroad and Trains Magazine kicked off the 2022 steam season at the Cumberland, Md.-based tourist railroad with a three-day photo charter featuring former Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 No. 1309, the last Baldwin built for domestic service and now the world’s largest operating Mallet. Some 100 enthusiasts were on hand […]
MONTICELLO, Ill. — The Monticello Railway Museum in Central Illinois is adding to its collection with the donation of former Illinois Central SW14 No. 1407. Following a career in private lease service, No. 1407 was graciously donated by GATX Locomotive Group. The unit, now GMTX No. 526, is currently stored in Lexington, Ky. No. 1407 […]
SEATTLE — Sound Transit will restore two round trips on its Sounder South commuter rail line as part of a series of transit changes set for March. Returning after being suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic are trains 1501, a 6:05 a.m. departure from Seattle; 1514, a 7:20 a.m. departure from Tacoma; 1509, a 3:15 […]
