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CHICAGO — Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin J. Oberman stepped up his criticism of Class I railroads on Wednesday, saying the industry’s drive for ever-increasing profits resulted in a loss of market share to trucks over the past 15 years and is restraining growth today. Rail rates fell by 27% between 1985 and 2004, as […]
HANOVER, Md. — Selection of a new contractor for Maryland’s much-delayed Purple Line light rail project is likely to occur in December, with a contract finalized by February — about five months later than had previously been projected. The Washington Post reports groups bidding to replace the previous contractor, which quit a year ago in […]
HAMILTON, Ontario — Hamilton city council members have approved a resolution agreeing to a C$3.4 billion light rail project, the CBC reports. The 11-3 vote means the city will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Ontario government and Metrolinx, the province’s transit agency, to build the 8.7-mile line. While the council has to ratify […]
CLEVELAND — The Greater Cleveland Regional Transportation Authority has extended the shutdown of Waterfront Line rail service indefinitely over safety concerns related to a bridge on the route. The 2.2-mile line has been shut down since October 2020 for a track rehabilitation project, but an RTA statement says an inspection determined the structure needed four […]
CHICAGO — Canadian Pacific’s merger negotiations with Kansas City Southern are progressing in the wake of last week’s regulatory decision that dealt a blow to the proposed Canadian National-KCS combination. “I believe, and I have high hopes, that we will come to a place when we finish these negotiations that we will be deemed superior,” […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National has announced it will require COVID-19 vaccinations for all employees in Canada by Nov. 1. In a press release, the railroad says the policy will apply to employees, new hires, those at CN’s wholly owned subsidiaries, and “contractors, consultants, agents and suppliers, and anyone who accesses CN’s Canadian properties. Requests for medical […]
Much progress has been made on BNSF’s second bridge across Lake Pend Oreille outside Sandpoint, Idaho. Rolling through on the existing 4,769-foot bridge (completed by Northern Pacific in 1904) on Sept. 5th is train H-BARPAS, a Barstow, Calif., to Pasco, Wash., manifest that detoured via Denver due to wildfire damage on BNSF’s route in northern […]
NEW ORLEANS — Union Pacific reports additional service has been restored in the New Orleans area as of Tuesday, including the reopening of its Avondale, La., intermodal facility. Also restored are interchange with CSX and the New Orleans Public Belt; interchange with the New Orleans & Gulf Coast, a 32-mile short line spun off from […]
EUREKA, Calif. — Northern California legislators are decrying an effort they say would revive a long-defunct portion of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad as part of a plan to export coal from the Port of Humboldt Bay, Eureka’s lightly used commercial port. The Eureka Times-Standard reports the plan from the North Coast Railroad Co. came to […]
NEW ORLEANS — Amtrak’s City of New Orleans continues to operate over only a portion of its route as Canadian National crews continue to repair damage in the wake of Hurricane Ida. An Amtrak advisory notes that effective with the Wednesday, Sept. 8, southbound departure from Chicago, the train will operate to Jackson, Miss., with […]
LONG BEACH, Calif. — A major rail expansion project at the Port of Long Beach has fallen at least a year behind schedule, an official says, as the port waits for the U.S. Maritime Administration to approve an environmental report. The Long Beach Post reports the $870 million Pier B On-Dock Support Project is awaiting […]
PHILADELPHIA — The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is proposing using a series of letters and colors to rename its urban rail system, to make it easier to use and emphasize the entire rail network rather than its individual elements. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the proposal would rebrand the network of rapid transit and trolley lines […]
