News Wire Digest Fourth Section for Friday, April 10 NEWSWIRE

Dan_Cupper

New ‘Railroad History’ editor Dan Cupper Railway & Locomotive Historical Society A Friday afternoon rail news update: — The agency which oversees Amtrak’s Downeaster has voted to suspend operation of the train between Boston and Brunswick, Maine, effective Monday. The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority says the suspension will be in effect through at […]

Read More…

News Wire Digest Second Section for Friday, April 10 NEWSWIRE

Bart

More Friday morning rail news: — Bay Area Rapid Transit staff members have told BART’s board that service to the Berryessa and Milpitas stations in San Jose is now targeted to begin in June. SFGate.com reports that the June start will depend on a number of factors, including certification from the California Public Utilities Commission […]

Read More…

News Wire Digest Third Section for Friday, April 10 NEWSWIRE

BNSF_Oil_Lassen

A BNSF Railway oil train passes through Lisle, Ill. Railroads are resisting requests to use tank cars to store crude oil during the oil price downturn. TRAINS: David Lassen Still more Friday morning rail news: — Railroads are resisting efforts from oil companies to store crude oil in tank cars during the current drop in […]

Read More…

Trains News Wire Digest for Friday, April 10 NEWSWIRE

LAMetro_UnionStation_Lassen

LA Metro passengers board a train at Los Angeles Union Station in January 2017. Metro is further reducing rail and bus service. TRAINS: David Lassen COVID-19 related rail news for Friday morning: — LA Metro will further reduce bus and rail service, moving to a modified Sunday schedule seven days a week. On Weekdays, Metro […]

Read More…

AAR: US train traffic continues double-digit dive NEWSWIRE

U.S. Rail Traffic1 Week 13, 2020 – Ended March 28, 2020 This Week Year-To-Date Cars vs 2019 Cumulative Avg/wk2 vs 2019 Total Carloads 219,844 -9.1% 2,993,051 230,235 -6.3% Chemicals 32,706 -3.2% 427,594 32,892 3.1% Coal 60,983 0.1% 833,542 64,119 -16.7% Farm Products excl. Grain, and Food 16,027 2.2% 206,011 15,847 2.1% Forest Products 9,694 -3.6% 126,608 9,739 -2.9% Grain 22,212 -1.6% 260,986 20,076 -6.0% Metallic Ores and Metals 20,875 -10.4% 268,111 20,624 -1.3% Motor Vehicles and Parts 5,423 -69.5% 196,624 15,125 -6.8% Nonmetallic Minerals 31,159 -9.7% 378,773 29,136 -6.6% Petroleum and Petroleum Products 11,220 -11.4% 168,493 12,961 3.6% Other 9,545 -9.7% 126,309 9,716 5.4% Total Intermodal Units 229,923 -14.2% 3,178,285 244,483 -8.6% Total Traffic 449,767 -11.8% 6,171,336 474,718 -7.5% 1 Excludes U.S. operations of Canadian Pacific, CN and GMXT. 2 Average per week figures may not sum to totals as a result of independent rounding.

WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic this week for the week ending March 28, 2020, as well as volumes for March 2020. U.S. railroads originated 899,673 carloads in March 2020, down 6%, or 57,148 carloads, from March 2019. U.S. railroads also originated 935,380 containers and trailers in March 2020, […]

Read More…

National shippers conference cancels 2020 meeting NEWSWIRE

CHICAGO — The North American Rail Shippers Association today announced the cancellation of its 2020 Annual Meeting planned on May 12-14, 2020 in Kansas City, Mo. Every year, the NARS organization looks forward to connecting with the rail shipping community at the NARS Annual Meeting and sharing insight from industry leaders. Given the growing concerns […]

Read More…

News Wire Digest Fourth Section for Thursday, April 9 NEWSWIRE

Texas Central logo

Thursday afternoon rail news: — In the latest in a series of efforts to stop construction of a high speed rail line between Dallas and Houton, a group of Texas state legislators have written the U.S. Department of Transportation, asking it to halt work on the Texas Central Railway project. The Bryan-College Station Eagle reports […]

Read More…

News Wire Digest Second Section for Thursday, April 9 NEWSWIRE

ottawa_o_train

More Thursday morning rail news: — The operator of the Ottawa, Ontario, light rail Confederation Line has outlined a plan to fix a length list of problems with the 7-month-old transit operation, but he city’s director of rail operations says the plan doesn’t meet the city requirements and does not include a timeline for fixing […]

Read More…

News Wire Digest Third Section for Thursday, April 9 NEWSWIRE

MARC_logo

Still more Thursday rail news: — A resolution in Delaware’s General Assembly would direction the state’s Department of Transportation to work with neighboring states and railroads to fill a 20-mile gap in commuter rail service between Newark, Del., and Perryville, Md. Delaware Public Media reports the resolution seek to have Maryland’s MARC and Pennsylvania’s SEPTA […]

Read More…

Trains News Wire Digest for Thursday, April 9 NEWSWIRE

MetroNorth_Westport_Lassen

A New Haven-bound Metro-North train arrives in Westport, Conn., in August 2019. Metro-North will move to an essential service schedule on April 13. TRAINS: David Lassen Thursday morning COVID-19-related rail news: — Metro-North Railroad will make new service cuts as of Monday, April 13, introducing what it is calling an “Essential Travel Schedule” including hourly […]

Read More…

Wabtec partners with other PA firm to make face shields for hospital workers NEWSWIRE

WebReadydsc_1997

A worker assembles and wears face shields. Wabtec’s plant in Erie, Pa., will product plastic screens for face shields destined for western Pennsylvania hospitals. Wabtec PITTSBURGH — Wabtec Corporation and Tronix3D are partnering to provide much needed personal protective equipment for Excela Health, a leading health system provider of advanced medical care in Pennsylvania. The […]

Read More…

News Wire Digest Second Section for Wednesday, April 8 NEWSWIRE

Alaskalogo

More Wednesday morning rail news: — The Alaska Railroad reported a $21.6 million profit in 2019, a 17% improvement over the previous year, thanks to improved freight business. The Anchorage Daily News reports the railroad generated $203.9 million in total revenue, an increase of 7.5%. Freight traffic increased by 9%, leading to $85.3 million in […]

Read More…